DEATH. TAN KHEAM HOCK. --- At his residence, 106 River Valley Road, on April 21, Tan Kheam Hock, J.P., Municipal Commissioner, aged 61. [The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 22 April 1922, Page 6]
The Late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock. The day originall fixed for the funeral of the late Mr Tan Kheam Hock having proved to be unpropitious, the funeral will now take place on Saturday next, April 29th, the funeral cortege starting from Penang Cot. 106, River Valley Road, at 11.30 a.m., sharp. [Malaya Tribune, 28 April 1922, Page 6]
LATE MR. TAN KHEAM HOCK.
Biographical Sketch By A Personal Friend.
Mr. H. B. Leicester, who was not only associated with the late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock (whose funeral took place to-day) in business matters, but was also a personal friend, forwards the following sketch of the deceased's career which he prepared some time ago:-
Mr. Tan Kheam Hock, a son of the late Mr. Tan Teng Pong, a well-known merchant of Penang, was born in Penang on June 18, 1862, and educated in the Penang Free School, on leaving which, he joined the Chartered Mercantile Bank. After several years' service, he resigned and proceeded to Calcutta, in 1877, to start a business there in connection with general produce, remaining there until 1889, in which year he came to Singapore and joined the syndicate which (with the exception of the period 1898-1900) held the monopoly of the Opium and Spirit farms till 1906.
In December 1901, he became labour contractor to the Tanjong Pagar Dock Co., Ltd. (now the Singapore Harbour Board) employing a huge permanent labour force numbering some thousands of souls. With Singapore for his headquarters, Mr. Kheam Hock had always identified himself with all movements for the welfare of the Chinese community here and elsewhere ; and was always ready with his purse and valuable advice to help and foster every good cause.
In 1910, he received the special thanks of the Governor fr the valuable advice and assistance rendered him in connection with the establishment of the Government Monopolies Department. In 1912 he was made a Justice of the Peace. He was elected a Municipal Commissioner for one of the wards onAugust 5, 1913, and under Municipal Ordinance of 1913, was twice nominated as such by the Governor. A staunch supporter of the Straits Chinese British Association, he was for a number of years on the committee of that society. Besides having a seat on the Chinese Advisory Board, and the committee of the Po Leung Kuk, he was also a member of the Board of Licensing Justices, a member of the Council of the King Edward VII Medical School ; Chairman of the Eastern United Assurance Corporation, Ltd., and Director of quite an array of insurance, rubber, tin and industrial companies.
Mr. Kheam Hock was a man of progressive ideas, of keen intellect and a pucka man of business. He was also a sincere friend to the cause of education for Chinese girls. Two of his sons, Chong Khee and Chong Lay, have been volunteers, and the former has, for several years, held the tennis championship of the S.C.R.C. He is also a director of York Estates, Ltd., and other limited companies. Two younger sons, Chong Chew and Chong Teck, were partially educated at a private school in England. It was the intention of Mr. Kheam Hock to send these two sons to Cambridge, but domestic affairs necessitated their return to the Colony earlier than expected. In the spring of 1913, Mr. Kheam Hock visited England and the continent. Six sons and one daughter by his first marriage and three sons and one daughter by the second marriage survive him.
[The Straits Times, 29 April 1922, Page 9]
One of the most impressive funeral ceremonies seen in Singapore for some time past was that which wended its way through the town on Saturday, when the remains of the late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock, J.P., M.C., were removed to the Alexandra Road cemetery for internment. In deference to the wish of the deceased the funeral was a simple one, but it was most impressive. The procession, which left the residence of the deceased, 106 River Valley Road, was about half a mile long, and traversed Killeney Road, Orchard Road, Tanglin Road, Alexandra Road thence to the cemetery. It was led by a number of people distributing silver paper broadcast, followed by Chinese musicians playing at intervals soft and melancholy airs. Two large lanterns, signifying the "seh" of the deceased, were carried next, behind which came many of the deceased's Tanjong Pagar coolies, carrying wreathes and caskets made of flowers. The deceased's motor car, which was a mass of flowers and wreaths, bearing a life size portrait of the late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock, came next. The band of the 2nd Middlesex Regiment followed, discoursing suitable music. The funeral catafalque, an immense one with its magnificent canopy made of the best green China silk, the whole adorned with flowers, came next, preceded by a long line of Buddhist priests, of the Teluk Ayer Temple, in their picturesque silken robes, who walked under the shade of gorgeous umbrellas. The mourners followed. The rear was brought up by a long line of cars, in which were noticed the chief members of the Chinese community, including the Hon. Mr. Lee Choon Guan, the Hon. Mr. S. Q. Wong, the Chinese Consul General, friends from Penang and the Peninsula, his brother Municipal commissioners, and members of other communities, including Europeans.
Over two hundred beautiful wreaths were sent from all the firms which the deceased was connected, Messrs. Seet Cheng Swi, Tan Hap Leong, A. Barker, Kho Keng Chuan, Tan Wi Yan, Khaw Joo Tock, Chia Cheng Jin, Kwa Siew Tee, Chan Sze Onn, Tan Soo Bin, L. Aroozoo, C. C. Dunman, Dr. J. A. R. Glennie, R. Page, G. W. A. Trimmer, Mr. and Mrs. S. A. Lane, H. Tongue, D. Noble, J. Symons, Seow Poh Leng, Quah Beng Kee, J. A. Elias, E. A. Elias, Chee Sweet Cheng, Municipal Commissioners, D. Beatty, Cheah Chen Eok, See Tiong Wah, R. J. Farrer, Seah Peng Hong, Chia Keng Tye, E. S. Manasseh, H. B. Leicester, Tanjong Pagar Labour Syndicate, Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Cashin, Chwee Eng School, Lim Peng Siang, Rev. J. S. Nagle, Mr. and Mrs. J. Etlin, Mr. and Mrs. G. M. Alford, and many others.
The Deceased's Career.
Born at Penang in 1862, the late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock received his education at the Penang Free School. Upon leaving this institution he joined the Mercantile Bank of India, London and China, and after working there zealously for eight years, he decided in 1887, to widen the scope of his experience by travel. Accordingly he went to Calcutta, and during a two years' stay there, mastered the details of the produce business. In 1889 he came to Singapore and became connected with the opium and spirit farm. Like most Chinese business men, he was careful not to keep all his eggs in one basket. Beginning with December, 1901, he contracted with that mammoth undertaking, the Tanjong Pagar Dock Company, to supply coolie labour. Some idea of what this entailed may be gathered when it is stated that the wharf frontage of the docks was over a mile and a half in length and as many as 2,500 coolies were permanently employed there. He continued the labour contract with the Singapore Harbour Board till the time of his death, and there were as many as five thousand coolies earning their living under him. Mr. Tan Kheam Hock took a great interest in the King Edward VII Medical School and had a seat on the committee of management. He was a member of the Society of Arts, London, where he paid a visit when he went to Europe in the year 1913. He married the sixth daughter of the late Mr. Foo Thye Sin, J.P., and Municipal Commissioner of Penang, and left a widow, nine sons (Messrs. Tan Chong Khee Teck, Tan Chong Gark, Tan Chong tan Chong Teck, Tan Chong Gark, Tan Chong Teat, Tan Chong Lock, Tan Chong Siew and Tan Chong Boon), two daughters and twenty-nine grandchildren to mourn his loss. He was appointed a municipal commissioner of the town of Singapore in the year 1910, which post he held till the time of his death. He was a member of the Hokkien Advisory Board, Licensing Justices, Poh Leung Keok, King Edward VII Medical School, Government Hospital Branch, a Justice of the Peace, and a chairman or director of the Eastern United Assurance Co., Singapore Traders, Great Eastern Life Assurance Co., Liberty Hall, Jesselton Ice Co., Sime Darby and Co., Lunas Rubber Estates, Scudai, Muar Rubber, Craigiela Plantations, Indragiri Rubber, Titi Tin, Lingui Tin, Singapore Building Corporation, and many other public companies.
The late Mr. Tan Kheam Hock was always liberal towards a good cause and was ever willing to give a helping hand to those who were ikn need of his assistance and advice, be they rich or poor.
[The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 1 May 1922, Page 7]
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