Kota Kinabalu: Matnin Matzin, 75, the son of Matzin Ani, the boiler man on the train which transported the Double Tenth detainees to Petagas, said Derasik’s account matches what his dad told him of the massacre.
“My father also told me about seeing some of the captives losing their arms as they disembarked from the train,” he said.
“My father and uncle, Midow Sahat, worked for the Japanese. Midow was the train driver. They wore Japanese uniforms and hats when under Japanese employment.
“My father never explained how he came to be employed by the Japanese. All I know was that those who worked for the Japanese were subjected to their every directive,” he said.
SPONSORED CONTENT Mengalum for world’s first net zero carbon island resort Taiwan’s Sinyi Group is on track to unveil the world’s first unique net zero carbon island resort on Mengalum Island. . Read more “They were instructed to bring the train with several people on board and it was ordered to come to a sudden stop when it reached a site at Petagas.
“The Japanese were very strict. Workers were not permitted to watch their superiors at work. My father was forbidden from looking at his surroundings, but he caught glimpses of passengers herded out of the train and those slow to move had their limbs hacked with samurai swords.
“As the boiler man, my father was not allowed to get out of the train. He does not know the exact number of people who got off the train but he knew there were many and comprised different races.
“He did not know (at the time) why the Japanese rounded up those people. Nobody dared ask the nature of a person’s crime when the Japanese have them in detention.
“My father said he heard some of the detainees crying for help (although gagged). He (dad) said there was a wide range of emotions and actions from those in their final moments.
“He was frightened by what he saw, especially knowing the Japanese were notorious for imposing severe punishment even for minor mistakes,” he said.
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