JAPS. LIVING IN LUXURY

Evening Star, Issue 25617, 18 October 1945, Page 5

JAPS. LIVING IN LUXURY

SEAFORTH HIGHLANDERS UNPAID LONDON, October 17. The Seaforth Highlanders in Batavia have not received any pay since leaving Malaya six weeks ago, and are forced to watch the Japanese live in luxury, says the ' Daily Express ' correspondent. He adds: " 1 found four Seaforths sitting outside a restaurant watching a bunch of Japanese civilians eating roast chicken, asparagus, and ice cream. I invited them inside for beer, and they told me that the Japanese were squandering money, while they were not allowed a_ penny. The restaurant proprietor said that the rowdy occupants at the adjoining tables were not Japanese, but Koreans. This was the signal for a civilian Dutchman, a former prison internee, to approach the table' and say, with his eyes blazing, " The swine all say they are Koreans."

The Seaforths are unable to receive any money because the British military authorities refuse to deal in Japanese guilders, which are the only official currency. The Seaforths are still living on hard rations. Bach man has received one bottle of beer in last few weeks. They are rationed to four British and four Japanese cigarettes a day, while the Japanese are unstinted.

The correspondent adds that the final comedy is that the Japanese Yokohama Bank is still functioning and is guarded by the Seaforths.