Tan Seng Poh (1830 - 13 December 1879), was a chairman of the

Singapore Municipal Committee The Municipal Commission of Singapore was a body created in 1887 by the British colonial government to replace the Municipal Committee that was created in June 1848. The role of the commission was to manage key services for the Town of Singapore, ...

, a Justice of the Peace and an honorary magistrate.

Biography

Tan was born in 1830 in

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, as the son of

Tan Ah Hun Tan or TAN may refer to: Businesses and organisations * Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...

, the Kapitan Cina of

Perak Perak () is a state of Malaysia on the west coast of the Malay Peninsula. Perak has land borders with the Malaysian states of Kedah to the north, Penang to the northwest, Kelantan and Pahang to the east, and Selangor to the south. Thailand's ...

. When he was nine, his sister married wealthy merchant

Seah Eu Chin Seah Eu Chin (; a.k.a. Siah U-chin, Seah Uchin or Seah You Chin; 18051883) was an immigrant from South China to Singapore, later becoming a successful merchant, a prominent descendant of Seah Clan and leader in the Overseas Chinese communit ...

, and he followed them to the Colony of Singapore, becoming the right-hand man of Seah. He was in good terms with Sultan Abu Bakar of Johor, and gained the patent right to sell

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 ...

Johor Johor (; ), also spelled as Johore, is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia in the south of the Malay Peninsula. Johor has land borders with the Malaysian states of Pahang to the north and Malacca and Negeri Sembilan ...

. Through the opium trade, he managed to make a fortune. When Seah retired in 1864, Tan took over Seah's business. In 1865, he succeeded in raising $500 for scholarships for European and Eurasian scholars. On 31 July 1869, Tan and

Lee Cheng Tee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

launched a new gunpowder magazine in Tanah Merah. In 1871, Tan was appointed the chairman of the

, and was the first Chinese to serve in the committee. In 1872, he was made a Justice of the Peace and an honorary magistrate. When his term expired in 1873, he offered himself for re-election, and won against E. J. Wells. In 1879, after his term expired, he offered himself for re-election, but lost to Edwin Koek.

Personal life

Tan had two sons, Tan Keng Swee and Tan Keng Wah. Tan's residence, known as the

House of Tan Seng Poh A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, was commonly regarded as one of four well-known Chinese-style mansions in Singapore. Tan died on 13 December 1879, and his funeral was held on 26 January 1880, on the same day as the funeral of

Chua Moh Choon Chua may refer to: * Hokkien or Teochew Romanisation of Cai (surname) People named Chua * Paul Chua, Singaporean bodybuilding official * Leon O. Chua (born 1936), Philippines-born American electrical engineer * Amy Chua Amy Lynn Chua (bor ...

. Seng Poh Road and Seng Poh Lane were named after him.

References

{{Reflist 1830 births 1879 deaths People from British Singapore