Tan Kim Tee and family (Bukit Brown)

Tan Kim Tee was a trader and a property owner. Originally from Java, Indonesia, Tan Kim Tee and his wife, Lim Siok Neo moved to Singapore in 1923. Tan Kiem Tie (Private) Limited was a holding company incorporated in 1931 that also dealt with owning and leasing of property. The beautiful tomb Mr. and Mrs. Tan Kim Tee were recently restored. Madam Lim Siok Neo was not buried in Bukit Brown although her tomb was also prepared. Listed are the names of their children: 
Son: Tan Sin Khing
Daughter: Tan Kin Nio
Daughter-in-law: Kwee See Nio
Grandsons: Tan Siong Lim, Tan Siong San, Tan Siong Hoo
Granddaughter: Tan May Hua

Tan Kim Tee

Mr. Tan Kim Tee passed away at the of 75 on 2nd October 1945. The circumstances of his death was tragic.

Wife: Lim Siok Neo
Great-grandmother, Mrs. Tan Kiem Tie nee Lim Siok Neo passed away at the age of 101 on January 1975. Her son, Tan Sin Khing (then 63) of 18 Balmoral Road said his mother warded to hospital after a fall in the house during Christmas. Mrs. Tan Kiem Tie left behind a son, an adopted son, 2 daughters-in-law, 5 grandsons, 1 grand-daughter, 2 grand-daughters-in-law and 6 great-grandchildren. She has lived in Singapore since she migrated here from Java, Indonesia with her husband and family in 1923. She was baptised a Christian in 1954 and is buried in Chua Chu Kang Christian cemetery.

Mrs. Tan Kiem Tie nee Lim Siok Neo

Son: Tan Sin Khing
Tan Sin Khing passed away on 16 December 2004. Madam Kwee See Nio, Henny passed away on 2nd December 1996.

Children: Tan Siong Lim, Franklin ; Tan Siong San, George ; Tan Siong Hoo, Charles ; Tan May Hua, Linda

Spouses: Lim Hsiu Lien, Katherine Lee Tan, Lai Jin Tee, John
 

Tan Sin Khing

Madam Kwee See Nio (Henny)

Unsolved Murder

Tam Kim Tee was found dead in the drawing room of his house at 18 Balmoral Road on the night of 2nd October 1945. The house was ransacked and at the murder scene, a piece of blue cloth (six inches in length and width) was found but later the evidence was lost by the police. The gardener was reported to be the witness to the crime. He was having dinner with his family when he heard noises as though some was being strangled at around 9 pm. He went to the main house and when  he didn't get a reply, he peeped through one of the windows and saw 2 figures in the hall (one stout and the other slim). The gardener ran to seek help from neighbors but by time the police arrived, the murders have gotten away. Tan Kim Tee's body was lying on the floor with a piece of blue cloth under the head while blood oozed from the nostrils. Two rewards totaling $2,500 were offered to anybody able to give information leading to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for the murder. The coroner, returned a verdict of murder against a person or persons unknown.

18 Balmoral Road

The family residence of Tan Kim Tee was 18 Balmoral Road. We are fortunate to be able to see how it looks like from the Lee Kip Lin collection. The building does not exist any longer and is now on the site of Goodwood Grand.

Location of tomb 

Tan Kim Tee tomb is located at Block 5 Division D, plot 249. It was originally quite close to the original main gate of Bukit Brown. It is now closer to Lornie Highway (Bukit Brown entrance from Hill 2).

Stories from the stones.

Thanks to a posting by Ang Yik Han in 22 April 2012 on Bukit Brown.com (please go the article to see a close up of the panels), we are able to get insights to the meaning of the carvings on the tomb shoulder and that it relates to the Romance of the Three Kingdom.

Left Panel

Guan Yu, seeking his elder sworn brother Liu Bei after leaving Premier Cao, happened to run into his other sworn brother Zhang Fei. Zhang Fei was wary however on account of Guan Yu’s long stay with Cao Cao and attacked him. Although Guan Yu protested his innocence, Zhang Fei did not believe him and told him to slay one of Cao Cao’s generals who happened to be pursuing Guan Yu and arrived then on the scene, within 3 beats of the drum. Guan Yu accomplished it within a single beat and the brothers had a tearful reunion. As this episode took place at an old town, it is also known as “encounter at the old town”(古城会).

Right Panel

Zhuge Liang found himself in a difficult position when Sima Yi, the Wei Premier, overcame the main Shu army and threatened his headquarters in a small walled town with overpowering odds. Reacting quicky, Zhuge Liang ordered all the gates opened and small groups of old soldiers to dress as sweepers and work at each of the gates. Escorted by 2 attendants, he sat on top of the city wall, calmly playing his zither. At the sight of this apparently defenceless town, Sima Yi immediately suspected a ruse and when he could not hear any hint of distress in Zhuge Liang’s zither playing, he hurriedly retreated with his army. This double bluff is known as the “empty town strategem” (空城计)

Variant Names
Tan Kim Tee also refers to: Tan Kiem Tie / Tan Tjek Pien

References

Advertisements. (1931, December 17). The Straits Times, page 5 
Advertisement. (1946, May 21). The Straits Times, page 4
Food land lies Fallow Eurasians to Unite. (1946, May 19). The Straits Times, page 5
"Incompetence of Police". (1946, July 26). The Singapore Free Press, page 5
Great-granny, 101, dies after fall. (1975, January 24). The Straits Times, page 11

Deaths (1996, December 4). The Straits Times, page 24

Deaths (2004, December 18). The Straits Times, page 29

Balmoral Road no. 18: general view. (website). PictureSG.

Romance of the Three Kingdom Stories. (website). All Things Bukit Brown

Tan Kim Tee (website).Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials 新加坡墓碑铭集录