Toko Lay: ce qu’il y a autour, comment y aller et quand venir · 2026

During the political turmoil before the Indonesian invasion, Chico Lay allowed civilians and regional refugees from Liquiçá, Suai, and Same to take shelter inside the store while owner Lay Tin Hsiong was abroad. When Indonesian troops entered Dili, the building came under heavy fire after a paratrooper became caught on the roof. Soldiers forced the occupants out toward the waterfront and separated the families at the harbour.

Following the raid on the premises, military forces sent the women and children to the Chinese school and detained the men under guard at the customs house. The captured civilians were assigned to forced burial details across public gardens and the port area. Diplomatic reports submitted to foreign legislative committees documented the assault, preserving the site as a focal point in accounts of wartime civilian experience.