Kiong Kong Tuan (; 1790–1854) was a Chinese merchant from
Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
. He was a merchant in Penang before establishing himself in Singapore. Kiong Kong Tuan held the
revenue farms for
opium
Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...
in the 1830s, and also for spirits. He had a spirit factory at
Pearl's Hill
Pearl's Hill, briefly Mount Stamford, is a small hill in Singapore. Located in the vicinity of Chinatown, it is one of the few surviving hills in the city area.
History
The hill was the location of gambier plantations owned by the Chinese who h ...
, and the site was known among the Chinese as Chiu-long-san ("Spirit Factory Hill").
He was known to have held the opium and spirit farms in 1848, and was the last opium farmer in Singapore. He was also involved in coffee and real estate. In the 1840s he had of coffee planted near
Jurong
Jurong () is a major geographical region located at the south-westernmost point of the West Region of Singapore. Although mostly vaguely defined, the region's extent roughly covers the planning areas of Jurong East, Jurong West, Boon Lay, and ...
.
Kiong was the grantee of a large, tract of land, with
Chin Swee Road
The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible ( mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm.
Evolution
The presence of a well-developed chin is considered to be one ...
as the main artery and
Cornwall Street and
Seok Wee Road as side streets, which was a densely-populated Straits Chinese residential quarter.
Kiong married a daughter of
Choa Chong Long, by whom he had an only son, Kiong Seok Wee, and several daughters, one of whom became the wife of
Wee Bin of the steamship firm
Wee Bin & Co. He died at the age of 64 on 16 January 1854.
Kiong was of Hokkien ethnicity from southern Fujian region.
See also
* The Singapore Encyclopedia
* A social history of the Chinese in Singapore and Malaya, 1800-1911 By Chʻing-huang Yen ,
* Guardian of the South Seas: Thian Hock Keng and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan By Xinjiapo Fujian hui guan by Xinjiapo Fujian hui guan published by Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, 2006
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kiong, Kong Tuan
Hokkien businesspeople
Singaporean people of Hokkien descent
Malaysian people of Hokkien descent
Malaysian people of Chinese descent
Malaysian emigrants to Singapore
1790 births
1854 deaths