from civilians during this period as they withdrew from outlying areas. Under Operation Jurist, Penang became the first state in Malaya to be liberated from Japanese rule. The Japanese garrison in Penang surrendered on 2 September 1945 aboard HMS Nelson and a party of the Royal Marines retook Penang Island the following day. The British subsequently recaptured Singapore, with the Japanese garrison on the island surrendering on 12 September. After the Singapore surrender, British forces reached Kuala Lumpur, where the Commander of the 29th Army surrendered on 13 September 1945. Another surrender ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur on 22 February 1946 for General Itagaki, the Commander of the 7th Area Army. On 12 September 1945, the British Military Administration (BMA) was installed in Kuala Lumpur. This was followed by the signing of the Malaya surrender document at Kuala Lumpur by Lieutenant-General Teizo Ishiguro, commander of the 29th Army; with Major-General Naoichi Kawahara, chief of staff; and Colonel Oguri as witnesses. Later that year, the MPAJA reluctantly agreed to disband. Weapons were handed in at ceremonies where the wartime role of the army was praised. Aftermath Repatriation Japanese troops who remained in Malaya, Java, Sumatra, and Burma at the end of the war were transferred to Rempang and Galang Islands from October 1945 on to await repatriation to Japan. Galang was renamed Sakae by the troops. Lieutenant-General Ishiguro was put in charge of the island by the Allies under supervision of five British officers. More than 200,000 Japanese troops passed through the island under Operation Exodus. A newspaper reported that Kempeitai troops were mistreated by their compatriots. The last troops left the islands in July 1946. In addition to Japanese troops, some 7,000 Japanese civilians who had lived in Malaya prior to or during the occupation were also repatriated to Japan. War crimes Members of the Kempeitai and camp guards were treated as prisoners of war because of their treatment of military and civilians. There were a number of war crimes trials. One held in 1947 found 7 Japanese officers guilty. Two were executed: Lieutenant Colonel Masayuki Oishi, commander of 2 Field Kempeitai and Lieutenant General Saburo Kawamura on 26 June 1947. Lieutenant General Takuma Nishimura, one of the five given life sentences, was later found guilty of the Parit Sulong Massacre by an Australian court and executed. Captain Higashikawa, head of the Penang Branch of the Kempeitai, was executed.