Tan Che Sang

Tan Che Sang was one of the earliest merchants from Malacca to come to Singapore when Raffles set up a British settlement in Singapore in 1819. He was a tycoon known for his addiction to gambling, and his prominence in the early colonial period was evidenced by a large turn-out at his funeral.

A Hokkien, Tan was one of the most prominent Chinese pioneers in the early years of British settlement in Singapore. Born in Quanchou, he left his native city at 15 to build his fortune, and succeeded first in Riau, then Penang (where he stayed for 10 years), followed by Malacca. He arrived in Singapore from Malacca in 1819 and settled on the island until his death in 1835.

Upon news of a newly established settlement in Singapore in 1819, merchants, especially from Malacca, streamed into the island and established warehouses along the left bank of the Singapore River. Tan was one of these merchants; he bought a warehouse from Farquhar, then Resident of Singapore, and became an agent for early Chinese junks. Farquhar had built this warehouse with a detached house across from his Residency. Located at High Street, the site of the warehouse comprised an area of 51,558 sq. ft. and is part of the High Street Centre Building. Later under Raffles resettlement plan of 1822-23, Tan removed his warehouse to Commercial Square (later known as Raffles Place), but kept this High Street site until his death in 1835. Tan was issued a title, lease No. 298, on 11 June 1827 for this High Street site. On his death, he willed that this site be reserved permanently for ancestral heritage purpose and not to be redeemed for money. In 1880 though, the Court ruled otherwise.

Tan Che Sang also benefited from Raffles' project of partitioning the city in order to manage the towns land use. The blueprint for this project was the Jackson Plan (December 1822 or January 1823), which was also the first town plan of Singapore. Under this plan, Raffles reclaimed land near Commercial Square and auctioned parcels of the reclaimed land. In the auctions, location tickets or grants were issued under Raffles' name, which allowed for the occupation of the land after payment was made. Tan acquired several sites for his business, as evidenced by more than five lease titles that were issued to him between 1826 and 1828. From 1826, leases were issued in exchange for location tickets held by residents who had cleared and built on lands on the tickets. The exchange was to legalise occupiers who owned land and buildings in Singapore Town, after the London Treaty of 1824 officially made Singapore a British territory.

Although Tan was the richest tycoon in his days, he was said to be a miser and a gambling addict. He tried to cure his bad habit by cutting off the first joint of one of his little fingers but that proved ineffective. He hoarded his wealth in iron boxes (in those times, banks were non-existent) and slept among them. Although it was said that he was close to Farquhar and dealt directly with him, Tan "had no social contact with the ruling community and was a strange withdrawn man, an inveterate gambler, obsessed with making money...".

Tan built a house in Kampong Glam but did not occupy it. Instead the house was sold to a Mr Ker and then later sold to Christian Baumgarten, Singapore's Registrar.

Tan Che Sang died on 4 April 1835 in his home on High Street. Between 10,000 to 15,000 turned up to pay their last respect at his funeral, with the procession passing through the commercial part of the town on its way to the Hokkien burial ground.