Wee Keng Yeow

on
Wee Keng Yeow 

黃瓊瑤

Lim Hui Neo
林輝娘




十九世祖考𤧶瑤黃府君佳城





霞園
十九世祖考瓊瑶黃府君佳城
中華民國十柒年戊辰
男
耀慶.Wee Yeow Keng 
江生. Wee Kang Seng 
江源
江槐
江漢
孫
聯勲
聯輝
聯芳
聯德
聯鈶
等同立石


公瓊瑶字地琨淸河公第三子福建漳龍溪人世居石尾埭頭社
營業五谷年南遊星嘉坡開創天一局滙兌銀業時五十有五築斯壽城立此㕥誌銘

妣輝娘西河(林)氏三水公之次女福建漳海澄人世居三都龍坑社
隨父母僑居廖內坡年二十有五適黃公瓊瑤生子四時四十有四築斯壽城
立此㕥誌銘


Page 16 Advertisements Column 3

The Straits Times, 1 July 1927, Page 16






第2页 广告 专栏 2

南洋商报 (Nanyang Siang Pau), 19 January 1928, Page 2






第16页 广告 专栏 2

南洋商报 (Nanyang Siang Pau), 9 February 1928, Page 16





CREDITORS TOO AGGRESSIVE.

Malaya Tribune, 14 May 1932, Page 6











NO FURTHER CHANCE FOR AN OLD MAN

The Singapore Free Press and Mercantile Advertiser (1884-1942), 8 February 1934, Page 3




The death of Wee Keng Yeow,a well-known local Chinese who for several years was manager of Chop Thye Seng in Telok Ayer Street. was inquired into by the Singapore Coroner,Mr. F. G. Bourne,yesterday. 


A verdict of "suicide from opium poisoning” was recorded.


The first witness was one of the deceased's sons. Wee Kang Seng,who stated that a little after midnight on Jan. 27 he was informed by his father's clerk that his father had taken poison in his room above the exchange bank'soffices in Telok Ayer Street. Witness.who lived in Sitwab Road, rushed tothe Sepoy Lines police station and telephoned for the ambulance. Then he hurried to his father's rooms, where he found the old man lying in bed. Hewas still abie to speak. Witness askedhim what had happened, and he replied that he was taking his own life.in the meanwhile the ambulance had arrived, and witness followed his father to hospital. He died there at2.20 a.m.


TWO LETTERS LEFT


When witness returned to his father'sroom he found two letters in a drawer written by him. One was addressed tothe Police and the other to witness and his four brothers. In the first letter his father stated that he camefrom the South Sea Islands when hewas 30 years of age. Now he was over 60. All these years he had been toil-ing. but times now were so.bad thatthere was no further chance for an oldman.That was the reason for his suicide.

The other letter advised the sons to hand the first note to the police. This they did.


HAD TAKEN OPIUM


Another witness, a clerk in the deceased's employ, testified that at mid-night on Jan. 26 the old man, calledhim up to his room and instructed himto hand two letters which he had justwritten to his sons when they wouldarrive at the office in the morning.Witness however, saw on a table abottle of brandy and a pair of scissorsbeside a bowl containing liquid and.suspecting something, asked his em-ployer what he had done. The latter

there upon told him that he had taken opium.  Witness immediately rushed away to inform the old man's sons.

Medical evidence showed that Wee Keng Yeow's death was due to opium poisoning, and the Coroner returned a verdict accordinglingly.


商界要人黃瓊瑤君前日服毒逝世遺有一妻三子平生爲人豪爽聞黃君之死與大成信局之失敗有關昨日經已舉喪親友前往執紼者頗多

南洋商报 (Nanyang Siang Pau), 28 January 1934, Page 3


昨日傳本坡名人黃瓊瑤君，因受環境厴迫之關係·以致於前晚服鴉片膏自盡，此事一傅出後，聞者莫不驚駭，蓋黃君曾有一時擁資百萬，平素對於社會公益又極熱心，故黃君之死，商界及社會如失巨臂，聞者無不十分惋惜，記者於得此消息後，立卽向各方調查，黃君服鴉片膏之事，果係属實，查黃君前係經營天一局信局，兼收雁兌，輕數十年之慘谈輕營，成績極佳，先後獲利不下百餘萬金，曾在巴西班讓開一瓊林村，越後不景氣之狂潮，捲向馬來亞而来，各途生意，均大曙影响，信局亦不能例外，迨至數年前廈門天一局倒閉，其實廈門天一局輿叻天一局·乃完全無有關係，但外間誰能原諒，故當時黃君被累十餘萬元·黃君此時實力還甚充足，故一肩担起，書將其債務一齊還淸之，可是本坡之天一局，因此而遭極大之打擊，遂致宜佈停業。黄君自天一局失敗後，對於世上一切本極淡薄，原可退至瓊林園而做一寓公，後因其子輝瓊，出而組織大成信局，其所營之業務，亦舆天一局同，黃君因父子之關係，故乃不得不出而帮同其子指點一切，外間亦以茜黃君之關係，故樂與之交易，其廈門之機關，即爲正大信局兼錢庄，其東家則為黄君多年之朋友，所以一向對於大成信局，十分信任，無論大成滙多少款項，正大均如數照交，所以在極短之期間中，大成信局遂成為信局中之皎皎者，社會人士亦代其祝慶，希其能更加發達也，不意此囘閩變，廈門金融界，發生極大之恐慌與騷擾，正大為着自己之血本關係，對於以前所放出之欵項，則極力設法收囘，大成信局亦為一債戶，而正大對於諸債戶，一齊同様對付·並無厚薄，而大成不知其中底細，照樣在此間收信及涯兌，迨欸項滙至廈門後，正大遂以寕我負人之政策將大成所𣾀之款，一齊扣起，作為清還以前之債務，而對於民信，及滙票，則一概拒絶不交，此消息傳到本坡以後，寄信者，滙票者，均紛紛向大成要囘款項，大成被迫得無法，乃請中華總商會從中調解，中華總商會以大成之主人輝瓊君係為中華商會會員之一，當答應輝瓊君之要求，立卽代為召集債主會議。


大成本與黄瓊瑤君本身無有關係，但外間之不能諒解，一如年前廈門之天一局，以前黄君之實力充足·足以償清諸債務，但現下則比較為差，所剩巴西班讓瓊林園一所，此園年前黄君曾售賣給其兒子江源江成江懐等，迨大成被迫停頓之時，黄君之子，亦願意將此園出賣，以償還諸債主，不過該園有二分係爲幼子所得，年尚未達到相當之年齡，可以自由出賣，故必請律師向政府請求，迨其批准後，售寶時則比較容易，而購買者亦可放心，可是此事之進行需時二個月之久之但那知此事正石進行之中，黄君瓊瑤竟以服毒逝世聞也。

據聞昨晚黄君在住處，不知受何種巨大之成觸，竟私自服下鴉片烟毒，迨其子發覺，而毒巳發，其子乃立卽車送至中央醫院施救，可是中毒已深，囘生無術，當晚卽在醫院逝世，由驗屍官驗，昨日遂卽出喪，親友前往執紼者頗多

查黄君係诲澄縣三都人氏，現年六十餘歲，身體壯健，為人爽直，有剛節之氣，黄君身後，還有一妻三子云·


The following is the translation to English of the provided text:

Prominent figure in the business world, Mr. Wee Keng Yeow, passed away the day before yesterday from poisoning, leaving behind a wife and three sons. Known for his generosity throughout his life, Mr. Wee's death is rumored to be related to the failure of Chop Thye Seng. A funeral was held yesterday, attended by many relatives and friends.

Yesterday, it was reported that Mr. Wee Keng Yeow, a notable figure in Singapore, committed suicide by taking opium paste due to pressure from his circumstances. The news of his death shocked everyone, as Mr. Wee once had a fortune of millions and was extremely passionate about social welfare. His death is considered a great loss to both the business community and society at large, causing much regret among those who knew him. Upon receiving this news, reporters immediately investigated and confirmed that Mr. Wee did indeed take his life with opium paste. Earlier, Mr. Wee operated the Tianyi Bureau (ChopThian It) and was involved in the business of remittances and exchanges, achieving remarkable success over several decades and amassing profits in the millions. He once established a settlement in Pasir Panjang and later faced economic downturns that affected his business ventures in Malaysia, including his trust bureau. The Tianyi Bureau in Xiamen collapsed a few years ago, which, despite having no connection to his other ventures, led to substantial financial losses for Mr. Wee. However, he managed to settle all his debts with his considerable resources at the time. The failure of the Tianyi Bureau in Singapore significantly impacted his business, leading to its closure. Following the bureau's failure, Mr. Huang became disillusioned with worldly matters, though he could have retired peacefully to his property in Keng Lim Garden. Later, his son Huichong founded Chop Thye Seng, engaging in similar business activities. Mr. Wee supported his son due to their familial relationship, which also facilitated business dealings with others. The Xiamen branch of the chop was a joint trust bureau and bank owned by Mr. Wee's long-time friend, which had great trust in the Chop Thye Seng , leading to its rapid success. However, a financial crisis in Xiamen caused a panic, with the main firm recalling loans from all debtors, including Thyr Seng, leading to financial difficulties for many involved. The Chinese General Chamber of Commerce was asked to mediate between the creditors and Thye Seng due to the connection with Mr. Wee’s son, a member of the chamber.

Thye Seng's problems were not directly Mr. Wee's responsibility but were influenced by previous events similar to those of the Tianyi Bureau in Xiamen. Although Mr. Wee previously had enough resources to settle all debts, his situation had worsened, leaving only his property in Pasir Panjang , which he had sold to his sons. During Thye Seng's difficulties, Mr. Wee's sons were willing to sell the property to pay off creditors, though part of the property belonged to the youngest son, who was underage and needed legal permission to sell. This process was expected to take two months, but Mr. Wee died by poisoning amidst these proceedings. Reportedly, Mr. Wee took his life due to overwhelming stress and was discovered by his son, who rushed him to the hospital, but it was too late to save him. The autopsy confirmed his cause of death, and his funeral saw many attendees.

Mr. Wee was from Hai cheng County, Santu, over sixty years old, physically healthy, straightforward, and principled. He is survived by a wife and three sons.

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Example of remittance letter 

For more info : 

http://blog.bukitbrown.org/post/57508567506/the-earliest-remittance-centres-letters-with

Extracted from : 

有一件盖有新加坡天一分局信戳的侨批，由林建松从马来亚叮加奴寄往海澄三都山仰社给内弟陈文楫转陈氏贤妻收。封背盖有“天一叻局”信戳，内容有：“黄琼瑶天一局实叻、大坡源顺街门牌□”，及 “叻帮发”字样。封背盖有厦门“源裕信局”和“联安信局”信戳. 

This is a remittance letter using Chop Thian It from Singapore , sent by a Lim Kian Song from Trengganu Makaysia to Haiteng Sam Du to his brother Tan Boon Tuan to transfer to Boon Tuan's wife .. 
The letter has the letter stamp of Wee Keng Yeow Silat Chop Thian It , 12 Telok Ayer St with additional stamps of Amoy Chop Guan Joo and Chop Lian Ann 


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