- shao Wei -

Early lifeElizabeth was born in Kudat in British North Borneo (today Sabah). Her great-grandparents had been assisting German missionaries in Hongkong and their work had brought them to North Borneo. There, the Yong family set up a coconut plantation. Her father had been the eldest in a family of 11 children and after completing his early education in China with some English education in North Borneo, he gained employment as a civil servant. Marrying the daughter of a priest from a well-respected family in North Borneo, he was transferred to Jesselton and later promoted to District Officer and moved on to Borneo's interiors in Kalimantan. Elizabeth was looked after by a Kadazan nanny and acquired Kadazan as her first language.EducationLater, Elizabeth's father was posted to Tenom where there were no educational facilities, so Elizabeth and her siblings were sent back to Kudat where her paternal grandfather ran the village school, teaching in Chinese. Her higher education was taken at St Monica's School between 1921 to 1929, an Anglican missionary boarding school in Sandakan. Because the teachers could not pronounce Chinese names, she adopted the English name Elizabeth. In 1925, she and her aunt Jessie became the first girls to sign up in North Borneo's inaugural Girl Guides Company. By 1927, she was teaching the lower standards even whilst she was studying.In December 1929, she came to Singapore to further her studies at the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus at Victoria Street. She shone academically, obtaining the Prize of Honor in her first year of school in December 1930. She resided with her fourth uncle at Selegie where he ran a music shop, the original T. M. A. at High Street. The untimely death of her mother in 1931 and the onset of the Great Depression placed upon her the burden of raising her six younger siblings. Thus she forwent a college education, even a possible scholarship, to start work so she could finance the education of her younger siblings

Elizabeth Choy -Murshid

After the fall of Singapore to Japan in 1942, she and her husband ran a hospital canteen, obtaining food, medicine and money for European internees. In 1943, the couple were arrested by the Japanese. For 193 days, they were locked up in a small cell, where they were tortured and interrogated. They refused to admit to any pro-British sympathies, and never revealed the names of those whom they had assisted.A photograph of her was on display as part of her exceptional life as a war heroine during the World War II at the National Museum in Singapore. The photo was taken in 1949 when she was 39 and was working in London as a nude model in an art school. On the photo, she said, "There is nothing to be ashamed of. The body is a work of nature and God's art. The room I was in was like a temple and the students treated me with such reverence. I felt like a goddess."She was very interested in arts and had enrolled in an art appreciation course in London.She was the first principal of Singapore's School for the Blind. She had a brief appearance in Be with Me (2005) as one of her former students, Theresa Chan, is the subject of the documentary segments of the film.One of her quotes,"If not for war, they would be just like me. They would be at home with their family, doing just ordinary things and peaceful work. Let us pray that there will be no more war."

Elizabeth Choy

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Biography Of Elizabeth Choy

• Elizabeth Choy Su-Mei , was born on 29 November 1910.
• Died on 14 September 2006.
• She was 95 when she died.
• She died of cancer & refused treatment.
• She was a Hakka Chinese born in Kudat, Sabah in North Borneo.
• She was a recognized as war hero in Singapore.
• Joined the Legislative Council in 1951, the first and only woman to have ever done so.
• She was the first principal, as well as a teacher, at the Singapore School for the Blind.
• She was also known for her qipaos and bangles, for which she was nicknamed "Dayak woman of Singapore".
• Japanese Occupation, she worked as a canteen operator with her husband at the Mental Hospital.
• They secretly brought food, medicine, money, messages and even radios to British internees.
• They were caught by the Japanese.
• arrested on 15 November 1943

Elizabeth Choy,Singapore WW2 Heroin

She is a recognised woman who risked her life to supply medicine, money and messages to british civilians interened in Singapore Changi Jail during World War Two.

Pictures of her...

"Remember me as someone who loves peace."Mrs Elizabeth Choy