Lo Kim Hak (Loh Kim Huck), c.1889 – 1925
Centre column: 故考 諱金 合之 墓
Left column: 孝女 清娘 榮娘 立
Altar plaque (English): R.I.P. / In Loving Memory / of / LO KIM HAK / Died / 22nd May 1925 / Age 37
| Translation | Tomb of the late father, named Lo Kim Hak. He died on the 1st day of the intercalary 4th month of the 乙丑 (Yi Chou) year. Erected by his daughters Cheng Neo and Eng Neo (榮娘). |
| Ancestry Place 祖籍 · ancestral origin, not birthplace |
Not legible in the available photo [?] |
| Name on Tomb 碑上姓名 |
羅金合 (Chinese) · LO KIM HAK (English plaque) |
| Date Mentioned 碑記日期 |
乙丑年閏四月初一日 = 22 May 1925. Checked with a lunar calendar conversion: 1925 had an intercalary 4th month, which began on 22 May 1925. This matches the burial register and the English plaque exactly. |
| Name (Chinese) 姓名 |
Name (Romanised / English) 英文名 |
Relationship 關係 |
| 清娘 | Cheng Neo | Daughter |
| 榮娘 | Eng Neo: Mary Low Eng Neo (1921–2000), Mrs John K. H. Tann | Daughter |
| Cemetery 墳山 |
Bukit Brown |
| Block No | 1 |
| Division | F |
| Plot No | 76 |
| Name in Register | Loh Kim Hak |
| Age 享年 |
37 years |
| Date of Death | 22 May 1925 |
| Date of Interment | 24 May 1925 |
| Remarks | Bukit Brown Blk 1 F, plot no. 76 |
| Malaya Tribune 20 Feb 1936 |
Engagement of Tan Kim Swee (alias Edward Tan), son of Mr and Mrs Tan Beng Tiong and grandson of Tan Teck Chye, to Miss Low Eng Neo, "daughter of Madam Gan Kwee Geok and the late Mr. Low Kim Hak." [NewspaperSG] |
| Malaya Tribune 16 Nov 1936 |
The engagement is announced again with the Loh spelling: Miss Loh Eng Neo, daughter of the late Mr Loh Kim Huck and Madam Gan Kwee Geok (alias Bibit Siam), of Onan Road. The groom is now described as the eldest son, of 420 Joo Chiat Road. The marriage was set for 26 January 1937, the 14th day of the 12th Chinese month (checked: 丙子年十二月十四日 = 26 Jan 1937). [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 17 Dec 1946 |
Notice of Divorce. By an indenture dated 14 December 1946, the Chinese-law marriage between Tan Kim Swee and "Madam Low Eng Neo (Baby)" was dissolved by mutual consent. Chong Thutt Pitt acted as solicitor for both parties. [NewspaperSG] |
| Singapore Free Press 15 Dec 1917 |
Universal Film Manufacturing Coy. The earlier powers of attorney given to Howard C. Martin and Kim Hock Tann (August 1916) are revoked. By a Deed of Substitution dated 13 December 1917 [?], Tom D. Cochrane, attorney of the company, appointed "the said Kim Hock Tann the agent of the Company in the Straits Settlements", with power to sign cheques, drafts and contracts. Notice by Rodyk & Davidson, solicitors for the Universal Film Manufacturing Company (Incorporated in New York). [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 9 Jul 1925 |
Mr K. H. Tann of the Universal Pictures Corporation leaves for Bangkok with The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, to arrange a screening before the Siamese royal household. |
| Straits Times / Malaya Tribune 27–28 Aug 1941 |
Retirement dinner at the Great World for K. H. Tann, retiring manager of Universal Pictures (Singapore) Ltd, after 26 years as a film distributor. He recalls the days when village audiences paid for film shows with coconuts. |
| Singapore Standard 17 Jul 1952 |
"Mr. K.H. Tann, retired 65-year-old cinema magnate," breeds pearls in white rice. His age fits the 1888 birth year on Mary Low's plaque. [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 26 Sep 1954 |
Death of Madam Koh Pia Sim, wife of Mr K. H. Tann, at 75 Devonshire Road on 25 September 1954. She left her husband, sons Harry and William, two daughters-in-law and six grandchildren. She was buried at Bidadari. |
| Singapore Free Press 9 Jan 1961 |
"Pioneer showman now cultivates pearls to while away leisure" — Mr Tann Kim Hock, better known as K. H. Tann, at Pasir Panjang. [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 14 May 1969 |
"Mrs. K. H. Tann (Baby)" thanks relatives and friends for their wreaths, donations, visits and attendance at the funeral of her late husband. [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 9 Jun 2000 |
Obituary: Low Eng Neo, age 80, died in her sleep on 3 June 2000. Husband: K H Tann (deceased). Son: Reverend Tian Peng. Grandson: Reverend Brother Jui Heng. She was buried at the Lawn Cemetery on 5 June 2000 after a funeral mass at St Francis Xavier Church. [NewspaperSG] |
| Straits Times 3 Jun 2001 |
1st Anniversary: Mary Low Eng Neo (Mrs John K H Tann), 24 August 1921 – 3 June 2000. Sons: Tian Peng and Tian Hoe. Daughter-in-law: Lai Kuen. Grandchildren: Jui Heng, Swee Boon, Swee Hoon and Swee Koon. A second notice, from the "Disciples of Tien Ann Tng (Study Group)" (Tien Tao), remembers her as "Ah Ma". [NewspaperSG] |
The encounter (22 Nov 2011). It was an overgrown sector of Blk 1, so it was a pleasant surprise to come across a triad of memorials: one with a cross, a Hokkien-style tomb and a memorial plaque. A lamp was lit nearby, as it had been on my last visit. An old man was cutting the grass around some tombs. When I asked whether he was tending his ancestors' graves, he said no, he was looking after his ancestors' neighbours. "I always come to say hello to this little boy. And this gentleman here," he said, pointing to several graves. "They are all my grandfather's neighbours."
Lo Kim Hak, the letter writer. In the old man's words: "My grandfather Lo Kim Hak used to be a letter writer for the Sinkehs (immigrants) in the 1910s–20s, just after the Chinese Republic was formed. He was a very helpful person, and was well liked by the Sinkehs." Lo earned an honest living and was very poor when he died at 37. The Sinkehs and his neighbours put together $300 so that he could have a fine marble tombstone. The burial register records Loh Kim Hak, aged 37, died 22 May 1925, buried 24 May 1925. The Chinese date on the stone, 乙丑年閏四月初一日, converts to the same day. The newspapers spell his name three ways: Low Kim Hak, Loh Kim Huck and, on the tomb plaque, Lo Kim Hak.
Margaret Gan Kwee Geok. His widow, Gan Kwee Geok (alias Bibit Siam), lived to a ripe old age and became a Catholic before she died. Her cross stands beside his tomb and reads: born 19 May 1891 [?], died 24 November 1964 [?], aged 74, "Erected by Baby".
Mary Low Eng Neo, "Baby". Lo and Margaret had two daughters, Cheng Neo (清娘 [?]) and Mary Low Eng Neo (榮娘), born 24 August 1921. Both names are carved on their father's tomb as the daughters who erected it, so Eng Neo was not yet four when he died. Her family nickname, Baby, appears on her mother's cross and in two newspaper notices, and it is the thread that connects the records. She was engaged in 1936 to Tan Kim Swee (alias Edward Tan) of 420 Joo Chiat Road, eldest son of Tan Beng Tiong and grandson of Tan Teck Chye, and they married on 26 January 1937, when she was fifteen. The marriage was dissolved by mutual consent on 14 December 1946, and the divorce notice names her as "Madam Low Eng Neo (Baby)".
Mrs John K. H. Tann. Mary later married K. H. Tann, better known as Tann Kim Hock (1888–1969). He was a pioneer cinema man and film distributor who managed Universal Pictures in Singapore. He was the eldest son of Tan Pong Guan, who was at one time secretary to the Consul General of China in Singapore. Tann is an unusual surname: Kim Hock preferred the extra "n" because he felt it gave the correct pronunciation of Tan. He was with Universal almost from the start. By August 1916 he already held delegated powers for the Universal Film Manufacturing Company of New York, the company Carl Laemmle founded in 1912, which later became Universal Pictures. In December 1917 he was appointed the company's agent in the Straits Settlements, with authority to sign its cheques and contracts. In 1925 he took The Hunchback of Notre-Dame to Bangkok to screen before the Siamese royal household. He retired from Universal in 1941 and spent his later years at Pasir Panjang, breeding pearls. His first wife, Madam Koh Pia Sim, died in September 1954. The date of his marriage to Mary has not yet been found, but it was probably after 1954. He was about 33 years older than her. When he died in 1969, "Mrs. K. H. Tann (Baby)" thanked mourners for attending the funeral of her late husband. Her own plaque calls her "Widow of John K.H. Tann (1888 A.D. – 1969 A.D.)". This is the only record found so far of his Christian name, John.
Her last years. Mary died in her sleep on 3 June 2000. She was buried at the Lawn Cemetery on 5 June after a funeral mass at St Francis Xavier Church. Her obituaries name her sons Tian Peng ("Reverend") and Tian Hoe, daughter-in-law Lai Kuen, and grandchildren Jui Heng ("Reverend Brother"), Swee Boon, Swee Hoon and Swee Koon. Tian (天) is a generation name the brothers share, not a surname, and the notices do not give their surname. A year later her family held a memorial mass, and a Tien Tao study group, the Disciples of Tien Ann Tng, also remembered her as "Ah Ma". Their notice said, "Though we are of different faith from hers, she treated us with benevolence and love." She was a Catholic whose family and friends included Taoists, Buddhists and Christians.
The adopted son. The old man in the cemetery continued: "I was an adopted son of Tan Kim Hock and Mary Low, my actual surname was Ong. But since they have adopted me and taken care of me, it is time I take care of them back. This is a memorial plaque for my mother Mary Low. Her ashes are in a columbarium, but I thought I would like to put the memorial plaque next to her father." He described himself as a Taoist who lights a lamp for Margaret Gan Kwee Geok, and said the lamp can burn for four days. He did not give his name.
"I don't understand why the Government is going to redevelop this place. There is so much history and shared memories of our forefathers here. Anyway, I will always come and light up the lamp, and let the light continue to shine in Bukit Brown."
Three faiths, one family plot. The plot holds a Hokkien-style marble tomb with a Chinese inscription and an English plaque (1925), a Catholic cross for the widow, who converted before her death (1964), and a memorial plaque for their daughter (2000). It is tended by an adopted grandson who keeps a lamp burning.
A tomb paid for by the community. A poor letter writer's marble tomb was funded by the immigrants he served and by his neighbours.
A verified lunar date. The Chinese date on the stone, 乙丑年閏四月初一日, falls in the intercalary 4th month of 1925 and converts exactly to 22 May 1925, the date in the burial register.
| Film | Local screening (newspaper evidence) |
| The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Lon Chaney | July 1925: Tann took the film to Bangkok to arrange a screening before the Siamese royal household (Straits Times, 9 Jul 1925). |
| The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Lon Chaney | Singapore, March–April 1927, advertised as a 10-reel picture. Its passing by the local censor provoked a debate in the letters page (Singapore Free Press, 30 Mar 1927). |
| Show Boat (1929), Laura La Plante | Singapore, early 1930, advertised as Universal's talking and singing triumph (Malaya Tribune, 17 Jan 1930; Straits Times, 16 May 1930). |
| All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), Academy Award for Best Picture | Penang, August 1930. "Mr. K. H. Tann, Attorney of Universal Pictures Corporation of Singapore" brought the print, insured for $50,000, to the Queen's Theatre himself. It drew two full houses on opening night, and Tann gave a short speech (Pinang Gazette, 2 and 7 Aug 1930). |
| Captain of the Guard (1930) | Penang, September 1930: a French Revolution story, shown as Universal's follow-up to All Quiet (Pinang Gazette, 5 Sep 1930). |
| Frankenstein (1931), Boris Karloff | Pavilion Theatre, Singapore, July 1932: "played to two crowded houses" (Straits Times, 6 Jul 1932). It was advertised as one of "Universal's two super productions", together with The Cohens and Kellys in Hollywood. |
| Three Smart Girls (1936), Deanna Durbin | Capitol Theatre, Singapore, from 14 April 1937. This was the screen debut of the teenage singing star whose films kept Universal solvent in the late 1930s (Malaya Tribune, 2 Apr 1937). |
| Wife | Margaret Gan Kwee Geok (alias Bibit Siam). Cross beside this tomb; d. 24 Nov 1964 |
| Daughter | Mary Low Eng Neo (Mrs John K. H. Tann), 1921–2000. Memorial plaque beside this tomb. |
| Son-in-law's family | Tan Pong Guan, father of K. H. Tann. See The Batai Sisters. |
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