Gan Leng Lee 顏能和

Gan Leng Lee 顏能利 (c. 1866–1936)

Hokkien, Qingjiao 青礁, Sandu 三都 (near Xiamen, Fujian); headstone dated bingzi 丙子 (1936)
Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场, Blk 4 A, plot 356

Headstone of Gan Leng Lee 顏能利. Photograph: Raymond Goh. Click to enlarge.

Tomb inscriptions:

三都
青礁
顯考顏公能利墓
丙子年四月十九日
孝男
友恭 Gan Yew Keng
孝女
孝孫
基木

Summary: Gan Leng Lee 顏能利 (c. 1866–1936) came from Qingjiao 青礁 in the Sandu 三都 district near Xiamen, Fujian. He died on 8 June 1936 at the age of 70 and is buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery, Blk 4 A, plot 356. His headstone names a son, Gan Yew Keng 友恭, a daughter and a grandson, Ki Bok 基木, as the people who set up the stone. A Straits Times report of 18 April 1936 shows Gan Leng Lee and his son Gan Yew Keng in the Bankruptcy Court over the affairs of the chop Keng Moh, about seven weeks before his death. This record transcribes the inscription, converts the date on the stone, and sets out what the newspaper says.

Tomb Inscription 墓碑銘文

碑文	Transcription / Meaning
三都 青礁	Ancestral home (籍貫): Qingjiao 青礁 in the Sandu 三都 district, near Xiamen, Fujian. This records where the family hailed from, not necessarily where he was born.
顯考顏公能利墓	Centre column: "Tomb of the late father, Mr Gan Leng Lee". 顯考 is the honorific for a deceased father, 顏 (Gan) is the surname, 公 is a respectful suffix and 能利 is the given name (Leng Lee).
丙子年四月十九日	Right column: the 4th lunar month, 19th day, of the bingzi 丙子 year, which is 8 June 1936.
孝男 友恭	Filial son Yew Keng 友恭 (Gan Yew Keng).
孝女	Filial daughter. Her name is not transcribed.
孝孫 基木	Filial grandson Ki Bok 基木.

Notes on the inscription:

• The date. The date on the stone converts to 8 June 1936, which agrees with the date of death recorded for him. The conversion was checked against a lunar calendar library.
• No widow is named. The stone names a son, a daughter and a grandson, and no wife.
• The son's name. Yew Keng 友恭 is also the name of the son who gave evidence in the 1936 court report below, which describes Gan Yew Keng as the son of Gan Leng Lee.

Burial Register 埋葬記錄

Final Resting Place	Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场, Blk 4 A, plot 356
Name	Gan Leng Lee 顏能利
Dialect group	Hokkien (Qingjiao 青礁, Sandu 三都)
Age	70
Date of death	8 June 1936 (stone: 丙子年四月十九日)
Date of burial

Short Biography 生平簡介

Almost everything printed about Gan Leng Lee comes from the last weeks of his life. In April 1936 the Bankruptcy Court heard an application by the Official Assignee for Gan Leng Lee and his son Gan Yew Keng to be adjudicated bankrupt as partners in the chop Keng Moh. The Assistant Official Assignee, Mr Tan, told the court that two affidavits were on file, signed by father and son, admitting that they were partners in the chop and consenting to be made bankrupts (The Straits Times, 18 Apr 1936, p. 13).

Gan Yew Keng, who was in court, disputed this. He said that his father had forced him to be made bankrupt. Before Mr Justice N. H. P. Whitley, Acting Chief Justice, he gave evidence on oath that he lived at Amoy Street, that he was the son of Gan Leng Lee, and that his father had authorised him to sign cheques on the chop's bank account when he himself was absent. He said that he had helped the chop by going out and arranging sales and purchases, that he had no money, and that he had signed the affidavit because his father and the Official Assignee persuaded him. Questioned further, he said that the bank had treated him as a partner but that in fact he had acted only for his father, and he accepted that the two documents he signed had been read and interpreted to him in his own dialect. The judge adjourned the matter for three weeks, and an adjudication order was made against Gan Leng Lee.

Gan Leng Lee died on 8 June 1936, the 19th day of the fourth lunar month, at the age of 70, about seven weeks after the hearing, and was buried at Bukit Brown Cemetery, Blk 4 A, plot 356. The report does not say whether the bankruptcy proceedings were concluded before his death.

Newspaper Record 報章紀錄

Date / Paper	Summary and link
18 Apr 1936 The Straits Times, p. 13	"Story of an Affidavit." Bankruptcy Court report on the bankruptcy of Chop Keng Moh: the Official Assignee applies to adjudicate Gan Leng Lee and Gan Yew Keng bankrupt as partners; the son disputes that he was a partner and says he signed under persuasion; adjourned three weeks, with an adjudication order made against Gan Leng Lee. Read issue

Leads to Check

• The chop Keng Moh. The report names the business only as Chop Keng Moh. The trade, premises and any partners are still to be found, for example in the Singapore and Straits Directory.
• The bankruptcy file. Official Assignee and Bankruptcy Court records for 1936 may show whether Gan Leng Lee's estate was administered, and the outcome for Gan Yew Keng.
• The daughter's name. The 孝女 column carries no legible name in the photograph.
• Descendants. No notice has been traced for the grandson Ki Bok 基木 or for Gan Yew Keng's later life.
• Article-level link. The Newspaper Record links to the NewspaperSG issue page; the article-level link is still to be added.

Sources 資料來源

• Headstone of 顏能利, Bukit Brown Cemetery, Blk 4 A, plot 356 (field photographs and transcription, S.T.E.M.).
• "Story of an Affidavit," The Straits Times, 18 April 1936, p. 13, via NewspaperSG, National Library Board, Singapore.
• Lunar–Gregorian conversion: the 19th day of the 4th lunar month of the bingzi 丙子 year fell on 8 June 1936, computed with a lunar calendar library.

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About this record. This entry is part of Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.) 新加坡墓碑銘集录, a specialised digital documentation project and archive recording historical tomb inscriptions in Singapore, with a focus on Bukit Brown Cemetery 武吉布朗坟场 and other early Chinese burial grounds. Each record transcribes the original Chinese inscription, gives an English translation, cross-checks it against the burial register, and adds a short biography drawn from contemporary newspapers and archival sources.

Cite this entry as:
Raymond Goh. "Gan Leng Lee 顏能利." Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials (S.T.E.M.), tombs.bukitbrown.org, https://tombs.bukitbrown.org/2021/04/blog-post_1.html. Accessed [date].

Keywords: Gan Leng Lee, 顏能利, Gan Yew Keng, 友恭, Gan Ki Bok, 基木, Chop Keng Moh, Qingjiao, 青礁, Sandu, 三都, Xiamen, Fujian, Hokkien, Bukit Brown Cemetery, 武吉布朗坟场, Blk 4 A, Amoy Street, Singapore bankruptcy 1936, Bankruptcy Court, Official Assignee, bingzi 丙子, 1936, Chinese tomb inscriptions Singapore, Singapore Tombstones Epigraphic Materials, S.T.E.M.

Bukit Brown Blk 4 A Name - Gan 顏 Region - 三都 Region - 青礁