When i saw the tomb, it was covered with creepers with a huge trunk of a fallen tree that narrowly missed hitting it and initially i thought it was an exhumed tomb as well, as it was small. But cleaning further, it was totally intact just the headstone itself was short and not of typical Teochew design shape although the engraving style made me assume that it was Teochew. Three names were etched on the headstone but who was buried here ? That is the most common question we have for Teochew tombs. The most important clue was the date of birth and death at the altar table. Born 28 July 1878 - Died 28 June 1949. From the burial registrar i can confirm that the person buried here is Madam Kwek Hwee Teck.
Madam Kwek Hwee Teck passed away at the age of 76 on 28 June 1949. Her dialect is Teochew.
From the newspaper archives, i found a record of a Mrs. Lee Kee Sin nee Kwee Hwee Teck who passed at the age of 77 at her residence, 90 Wilkinson Road, Singapore. She leaves behind;
1 son; Lee Siow Mong
3 daughters; Miss Lee Hong Sze, Mrs. Tan Chong Tee, Mrs. Tan Siak Phuang
2 daughters-in-law; Mrs. Lee Mong Chew, Mrs. Lee Siow Mong
and 7 grandchildren.
The cortege left from 90 Wilkinson Road for Bukit Brown on 2 July 1949.
I could not make the connection initially between Mr. Lee Kee Sin to Mr. Lee Kia Joo (but thanks to Raymond Goh blogpost on 31 August 2025, i am able document more.
Husband: Lee Kia Joo alias Lee Kin Sin / Lee Kee Sin
Lee Kee Sin was a merchant at Klang Road.
Mr. Lee Kia Joo alias Lee Kin Sin passed away peacefully at her residence, 218 Moulmein Road on 26 August 1938. He was 82 when he passed away. He leaves behind;
his wife; Madam Kwee Hwee Teck
1 son; Mr. Lee Siow Mong of the Straits Settlements Civil Service
3 daughters; Misses Lee Hong Sze, Lee Shao Meng, Lee Hong Kee
1 daughter-in-law; Mrs. Lee Mong Chew
and 1 grandson.
The cortege left from 218 Moulmein Road to Bukit Brown.
From the burial registrar, he is buried in Block 4 Section C, 1224. This confirms that both Lee Kia Joo alias Lee Kin Sin and Madam Kwek Hwee Teck are buried together.
There was an article on 30 April 1943 also of Madam Kwee Hwee Teck of No. 49 Norfolk Road, Syonan-to (Singapore) who own shares of The Atlas Ice. Co., Ltd seeking to get duplicates for the share lost.
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| Tomb of Madam Kwek Hui Teck |
Family
Son: Lee Mong Chew
<no information yet>
Son: Lee Siow Mong / Tan Si Lee Siow Mong (1915 - 31 August 1989)
Lee Siow Mong was sent to China at the age of 7 but returned to Singapore to attend school. Lee Siow Mong was a student of Raffles Institution. He attained the Hullet and Guthrie Scholarships and in the1933 School Certificate Examination was ranked second of Malayan students. He eventually graduated Raffles College, having attended with a Scholarship. In a 3 May 1937 article, Lee Siow Mong (then 22 years of age) and R.C. Hoffman, both graduates of Raffle College were selected for the Straits Settlements Civil Service. He never forgot his early Chinese education and during the early period continued his Chinese education under private tutelage. He is trilingual in Chinese, English and Malay.
Lee Siow Mong had an illustrious career in the civil service, rising up the ranks and holding many Government portfolios including;
- First Asiatic holder of Registrar of Companies, Singapore (1947)
- Promoted to the Colonial Services (1949)
- Deputy Commissioner of Estates, Duties and Deputy Commissioner of Stamps (1949)
- First Asian officer of the Singapore Government to undergo training in Colonial Administration (1951)
- Permanent Secretary to Education Ministry (1957- 1958)
- Permanent Secretary to Ministry of Culture (1960 - 1961)
- General Manager of the Public Utilities Board (1965 -when he retired).
By the time he opted to retire at the age of 50 in 1965, he held about 20 postings. However the retirement was short-lived when the Malaysian Government asked for his assistance to take over the helm of the Malaysian Employees Provident Fund (EPF). He was General Manager of the Employees Provident Fund for 13 years and advvisor for 2 before retiring again in 1980. For his contributions, he was awarded the Johan Mangku Negara in 1974 and the Panglima Setia Mahkota in 1979.
Outside of civil service, Lee Siow Mong was well known as the President of the China Society from 1952 onwards. The Society is an organisation dedicated to the study of Chinese arts and culture.
The engagement was announced on December 1936 of Mr. Lee Siow Mong (younger son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Kia Joo of Singapore) to Miss Tan Gek Eng (daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Tan Khiam Pee of Kuala Lumpur). The eventually married and she is better known as Puan Sri Grace Lee .
Tan Sri Lee Siow Mong passed away due to cancer at his residence, No. 1 Ascot Rise at the age of 75 on 31 August 1989. Among the congregation who paid respects included then President Wee Kim Wee and Mrs Wee. He is survived by;
His wife; Puan Sri Grace Lee nee Tan Gek Seng
Sons; Lee Tzu Hong, Dr. Lee Tzu Kuang, Lee Tzu Yang
Daughters-in-law; Katie Lim Khar Tiang, Judith Jane Goodwin, Veronica Tan
Daughters; Dr. Lee Tzu Kia, Dr. Lee Tzu Pheng
Sons-in-law; Dr. Jeffrey Wong Hong Seng, Dr. Ban Kah Choon
Grandchildren; Laura Lee Hsiu-Hee, Leonard Lee Sung-Hee, Christopher Luther Lee Chok-Hee, Dennis William Lee Liang-Hee, Richard Lawrence Lee Yung-Hee, Lee Jun-Hee, Ban Li Hian
Puan Sri Lee Siow Miong nee Grace Tan Gek Eng passed away at the age of 90 on 4 February 2007.
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| Obituary notice of Tan Sri Lee Siow Mong |
Daughter: Lee Hong Sze
Lee Hong Sze was a well known Singapore Badminton Player and played for the Marigold Badminton Party. She survived the war and the last article i found mentioning her was in 1948
Daughter: Lee Shao Meng / Mrs. Tan Chong Tee
Lee Shao Meng was Singapore Badminton Association (S.B.A) champion in 1938. She also played for the Marigold Badminton Party. The obituary notice of both Lee Kia Joo alias Lee Kin Sin and Madam Kwek Hwee Teck gave me insight that Miss Lee Shao Meng is no other than Mrs. Tan Chong Tee (listed in Madam Kwee Hwee Teck obituary notice. Her husband, Tan Chong Tee (陈崇智) himself was a famous badminton player in Singapore winning the Singapore open and a contemporary of another famous badminton player of that era, Wong Peng Soon. Tan Chong Tee often played mixed doubles with Lee Shao Meng.
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| Lee Hong Sze and Lee Shao Meng (source: NewspaperSG) |
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| Tan Chong Tee (source: NewspaperSG) |
Daughter: Lee Hong Kee / Mrs. Tan Siak Phuang
Block 4 Section C, plot 1224 (Lee Kia Joo)
The engagement is announced on June 1940 between Mr. Tan Siak Phuang of Brinkmann & Company, Singapore (third son of Mr. and Ms. Tan Kim Swee of Johore) and Miss Lee Hong Kee (third daughter of Mrs. Lee Kee Sin and the late Mr. Lee Kee Sin of Singapore).
Grandson: Lee Tzu Hong
Lee Tzu Hong (eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Siow Mong) married Lim Khar Tiang (second daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Lim Peng Juay). Wedding took place around April 1968.
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| Lee Tzu Hong and Lim Khar Tiang (source: NewspaperSG) |
[research on-going]
Location of tomb
Block 4 Section C, plot 1223 (Kwek Hwee Teck)
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| Unique Teochew tomb of Lee Kia Joo and Madam Kwek Hui Teck |
References
Advertisement. (1936, December 26). Malaya Tribune, page 12
Domestic Occurrence. Death. (1938, August 27). Malaya Tribune, page 3
Straits Civil Service. (1937, May 3). Morning Tribune, page 3
Untitled. (1939, August 27). Sunday Tribune, page 19
Engagements. (1940, June 6). The Straits Budget, page 4
S'pore Chinese Gets High Post. (1947, February 16). Sunday Tribune, page 3
First Asian back after UK study course. (1951, July 27). The Singapore Free Press, page 5
Registry wedding. (1968, April 13). The Straits Times, page 4
Death. (1949, June 30). The Straits Times, page 6
Lee Siow Mong dies of cancer, aged 75. (1989, September 1). The Straits Times, page 28
Tan Sri Lee Siow Mong - a man of many talents. (1989, September 1). The Business Times, page 2
Tan Chong Tee. (website). Infopedia. National Library Board, Singapore
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