ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses how plague exemplified the fears of Singapore’s colonial officials and doctors towards infectious diseases. Even though it rarely caused epidemics, the disease was greatly feared as an ‘endemic Sinbad’ that had taken root amid the filth of the town. To some extent, this official concern persisted into the post-colonial period. But plague also had an important social history that offers insights into why the immigrant Asian population did not notify cases of the disease or cooperate with the colonial government.
