Some guerrillas turned from agitation to communism and began targeting British commercial interests in the colony by attacking rubber plantations and tin mines.

By June 1948, escalating violence and the assassinations of several prominent British landowners led colonial authorities in Malaya to declare an "Emergency".

Basic training for the troops focused on infantry skills, not their ability to judge the appropriateness of orders in the context of the law of war.

The specific jungle warfare training included shooting exercises where soldiers had to quickly distinguish between "enemy" and "friendly" targets, but otherwise continued the focus on infantry skills.

Michael Gilbert, a member of the Suffolk Regiment, said that his training "[was] teaching you how to march, how to handle a rifle, and how to behave in a soldierly manner."

Raymond Burdett, another member of the Suffolk Regiment, reflected on his experience and said that the trainers sought "to get us to follow instructions, not to question commands.

[6] The 1949 Geneva Conventions included Common Article 3, which is a "mini-convention" applicable to non-international armed conflict and simply prohibits the murder of non-combatants under the physical control or custody of State or non-state forces.

[7] In December 1948, 7th Platoon, G Company, 2nd Scots Guards, surrounded a rubber plantation at Sungai Rimoh near Batang Kali in Selangor.

[4] On 9 September 1992, a BBC documentary, an investigative report into the massacre, "In Cold Blood", was aired in the United Kingdom and revealed fresh evidence.

On 14 July 1993 a police report was lodged by three survivors, accompanied by the MCA Public Service and Complaints Bureau Chief Michael Chong.

On 18 September 1993, however, Gavin Hewitt (Head of South East Asia Department of the Foreign Office, UK) stated, "No new evidence has been uncovered by the British authorities to warrant the setting up of another official inquiry into the alleged massacre of 24 villagers in Batang Kali...".

The petition seeks official apology, compensation for the family members of the 24 massacre victims and financial contribution towards the educational and cultural development of the Ulu Yam community.

[21] Survivors of the Batang Kali Massacre and relatives of civilians executed by the Scots Guards started a legal battle in 2012 with against the British government over the killings.

A week after the Scots Guards had shot her father dead, both she and her heavily pregnant mother were made to clean up his corpse which was bloated and covered in flies.

"[12]British courts ruled that although the Scots Guards had massacred innocent civilians and that this was possibly a war crime committed by the British Army, they also ruled that the government was not obliged to hold a public inquiry because the massacre happened too long ago, and that due to a legal technicality nobody could be held legally responsible.

[11] This ruling was condemned by various human rights organisations and legal experts who argued that such a decision could be used to justify many historic instances of war crimes committed by the British military.