Sentosa Island, where Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un are set to meet, was once a Japanese camp for British and Australian POWs during WWII, USA Today reports.
The island on which the luxury resort sits in Singapore that will host President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for their unprecedented summit next week has a dark past.
The 5-star Capella Hotel, located a quarter-mile off the mainland, promises the “tranquility” of Sentosa Island amid the bustle of the “cosmopolitan” city-state, according to the hotel’s website.
But Sentosa Island – now home to beaches, luxury hotels, casinos and golf courses – used to be a Japanese camp for British and Australian prisoners-of-war during World War II. Many Singaporean Chinese who were suspected of acting against Japan were also executed there.
The island was renamed Sentosa, Malay for “peace and tranquility” in 1970, following a competition to come up with a new moniker. Its previous name was Pulau Belakang Mati, meaning “Island After Death.
