Bukit Kepong incident

Part of the Malayan Emergency

Date	23 February 1950
Location	Bukit Kepong, Muar
Result	Communist victory

Belligerents

Malayan Communist Party

United Kingdom
Federation of Malaya

Malayan Police

Commanders and leaders

Muhammad Indera ☠

Lek Tuan

Sgt Jamil Mohd Shah (Bukit Kepong police chief)
Penghulu Ali Mustapha (villagers chief of Bukit Kepong)

Strength

180

Casualties and losses

KIA: 40

KIA: 14 officers
5 Auxiliary Police
WIA: 4 officers

Civilian casualties
2 killed
10 rescued

United Kingdom
Federation of Malaya

Bukit Kepong incident was an armed encounter which took place on 23 February 1950 between the Federation of Malaya Police and the gunmens of Malayan Communist Party during the Malayan Emergency. This conflict took place in an area surrounding the Bukit Kepong police station in Bukit Kepong. The wooden station was located on the river banks of the Muar River, about 59 km from Muar town, Johor.

The incident started just before dawn with the Communist gunmen launching a guerrilla assault on the police station leading to the deaths of almost all of the police officers stationed there. When they began the siege, the attackers strongly believed that they would be able to defeat the policemen and gain control of the police station within a short span of time. This was due to several factors in their favour: their arms and numerical superiority and the relative isolation of the station. The battle began at about 4:15 am.

According to eyewitness accounts, there were about 180 Communists attacking, led by Muhammad Indera, a Malay Communist. Despite the odds, the policemen led by Sgt. Jamil Mohd Shah, refused to surrender, although numerous calls by the communists for them to lay down arms were made. Several officers were killed as the shooting continued and two wives of the defending officers took up arms when they discovered that their husbands fell in battle.

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Wikipedia