Warning: The following photos may be very disturbing to some viewers

 
Wonder how much space does a coffin occupy? You can aga-aga estimate the dimension of the ditch from the above photos

This cemetery apparently is the only plot of cemetery land space left after intensive development in the area surrounding it. SJI was built around late 1980s and the land that it stands on is a part of the old cemetery that extends from the current CJC to SJI. CJC was built in the 1970s and even that piece of land was once formerly part of the cemetery that Chinmaya describes. It seems that the history of Malcolm road (where SJI stands) leading all the way to Whitley road (where CJC now stands) was part of a large Chinese cemetery that was there for some time (I dun noe when the cemetery started but it seems that there were still visitors to these graves come Qing Ming when I was still studying there so I think chances are these graves were probably there since 1950s, maybe even earlier.)

I happen to study at these 2 places (SJI and CJC) for a good 6 years (from 1991-1996) and it seems that the history of the land being occupied by SJI is as infamous as the school itself. This plot of cemetery is NOT mount pleseant cemetery but it is a stretch of land that overlooks the exit point from PIE to stevens road. Mount Pleseant is actually on the other side of the PIE somewhere near where the current Police Academy is located. I'm unsure of the name of this cemetery, but when I was still studying in SJI, uniform groups do camp overnight in the hilltop cemetery as part of their uniform group training. Cadets were made to patrol the perimeter of the cemetery as part of their sentry duty and some were also camping beside the graves to build up their bravery (wonder if they still practice that tradition now). The graves are not exhumed presumbly because the land space needed by SJI is sufficient or that the piece of land mentioned may be intended for something else. What I do know is that there are happenings in the school that could be due to the history of the land.

Let me try to recount a few stories that I have heard from my seniors and classmates. I can clearly remember a story that goes like this: There was this toilet that was situated at the rear end of the school, nearest to where Sec 3S4 classroom was. I used to attend Chinese lessons in that class and the toilet is frequented not just by me but also many of my friends. In the day time it looks pretty harmless. But you could clearly see that the walls have red marks stretching from the top near the ceiling to the base. These red marks are not your usual paint job but it looks like blood stains that were unwashable. Note here that this is what I saw, whether it is of another material is left to personal interpretation, but it seems like these staining were rather abnormal. The toilet has since been renovated into a computer room or something. But maybe my fellow students from the early 1990s could verify this information.

There is no doubt that the school was built on cemetery ground, as evident by an incident whereby coffins from the hilltop were exposed. On a rainy morning, a landslide occurred. The graves from the hilltop cemetery were exposed and some of the coffins were exposed, some to the extent that we could even see the remains inside the coffin. The school authorities had to eventually strengthen the hill by placing a huge plastic sheet over the affected area to prevent landslide incidents from happening again. It was there for all to see evidently that our school was craved out of the land that was previously a cemetery. The formation of the graves beside the school suggest strongly that SJI occupies what was formerly a cemetery.

 

 
Now opening ...


The coffins are exposed inside out