The Kinabalu Guerrillas a local underground resistance group led by Albert Kwok staged a surprise attack on the Japanese on the eve of October 10 (Double Tenth) in Tuaran and Menggatal and marched to Jesselton before they were finally defeated. 176 of the Guerrillas were massacred on 21 January 1944 and buried at Petagas.
The remaining 131 were sent to labour camps in Labuan. In 1948, the remains of the 122 Kinabalu Guerrillas who perished in Labuan were brought back in urns and buried next to their heroic comrades. The burial site is now the Petagas Memorial Garden and each year a morning Service is held on 21 January to commemorate their heroic sacrifice and the tragedies suffered by their families.
