Tōfuku Maru


Tōfuku Maru was a Japanese cargo ship and hellship.

Hellship

Between October 27 and November 27, 1942 the vessel transported 1,200 Allied prisoners of war and 600 Japanese Army troops between Singapore and Moji, Japan. Twenty-seven prisoners died during the journey, the result of poor hygiene conditions on the ship. A further 130 were carried off the ship on stretchers and as many as 100 died later.
On 24 December 1943, torpedoed and sunk Tōfuku Maru off the east coast of Honshu, Japan.

War crimes trial

During a Singapore War Crimes trial, the ship's master Shiro Otsu and Serjeant Major Eiji Yoshinari were tried for war crimes that caused the deaths of prisoners on the voyage. During the trial it was found that the POWs were crammed into two holding areas with an average area of 5 men per and that toiletry facilities and foods were insufficient for their needs. On 11 June 1947, Otsu was found guilty and Yoshinari was acquitted.

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