How did the people of Singapore react to the Japanese attack?

The people of Singapore were led to believe that the possibility of a Japanese attack was remote.
The general feeling in Singapore shortly before the Japanese air raid was observed by Mary Thomas, an English woman who was interned in Changi Prison during the Japanese Occupation: "During that period, the war in Europe seems to have little or no effect on our lives. Social and club life went on as usual. Food, imported or native-grow, tinned, frozen or fresh, was plentiful and so was clothing. There was no need for black-outs or curfews and no one took Air Raid Precautions(A.R.P.) very seriously, for we knew that Singapore was an impregnable fortress. The Japanese, however they might flourish tin China, would certainly crumble the moment they came in contact with a first-class Western Power."
-Adapted from In the Shadow of the Rising Sun by Mary Thomas

*If someone is interned, he or she is put in prison or in a prison camp.

The following extract by Elizabeth Choy, a wartime heroine, captured the people's views about the life in Singapore shortly before the war: " Before the war, my family lived in MacKenzie Road near the present-day Istana (formerly known as Government House). Life was peaceful and happy then. My notion of war was very vague. Just before the outbreak of the Pacific War, though we heard news that the situation was turning critical, we were not unduly worried about bombers, cannons and warships were here to protect us, Singapore would be safe. Anyway, part of the Japanese troops were still far away in Annam (Present-day Vietnam) and there was no way they could reach Singapore so soon.
-Adapted from The Price of  Peace, compiled and edited by Foong Choon Han

Last time

Information taken from : Marshall Cavendish Education (2007). SINGAPORE FROM SETTLEMENT TO NATION PRE-1819 TO 1971. Singapore. MOE Building