Lee Sin Yew (李神佑) - Lawrence Wong's Maternal Grandfather

Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong revealed in a speech back in 2022 that his maternal grandfather was named Lee Sin Yew - who, he quips, is not related to Lee Kuan Yew.

 

 

Interestingly, I believe that I may have found Lee Sin Yew's obituary from 1988:

 

And here's the Chinese version:

 

 

The obituary only mentions he had 25 grandchildren, but does not list them individually. Lawrence Wong would be one of them.

Although Lawrence Wong has not publicly revealed what his parents' names are, he did mention on a FB post that his mother was a teacher at Haig Boys' School for more than 35 years.

In the Haig Boys' School alumni FB group, there are also several mentions of Lawrence Wong's mother. By all accounts, she was very well-loved teacher, and she was known by her former students as Mrs Wong Kim Hua.

The name "Kim Hua" does match with Lee Sin Yew's fourth daughter, who was also the only daughter to marry someone surnamed Wong, thus making her Mrs Wong.

Furthermore, according to this 2024 article, Lawrence Wong's father's Chinese name was 黄守明, which matches the name of Lee Sin Yew's fourth son-in-law in the Chinese obituary as well.

Therefore, this is most likely the same person as Lawrence Wong's grandfather.

Rare Surnames in Singapore - 焦 (Chio)

Dr Chio Aesthetic & Laser Centre
焦氏美化与激光治疗中心

Located at Blk 158 Bedok South Ave 3 #01-581.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/f9vCrsM4D5eBJJLD7

At first, I thought it was just a play on words, since "chio" can mean "pretty" (although the etymology is a little vulgar). But then, I saw that the doctor's name is Roy Chio, so it does seem like the clinic is named after someone who is actually surnamed Chio (焦).

According to this Straits Times article from 2015, Dr Roy Chio, then 43 years old, was fined by the Medical Council for making fraudulent declarations.

 

The corresponding Lianhe Zaobao article gives his Chinese name as 焦汉成. Unlike the two other doctors mentioned, the article does not say that his name was transliterated from English, so this most likely suggests that it is the correct Chinese name.

 

Singapore Medical Association's membership directory from 2022 gives his full name as Chio Han Sin Roy, which matches the Chinese name as well.

https://sma.org.sg/UploadedImg/files/04-SMAMembershipListing-2022.pdf

All these sources do confirm that the surname Chio (焦) does exist among local Chinese Singaporeans. However, it is not known which dialect group(s) it originated from.

 

Based on this map from《中国四百大姓》(中), 焦 is more commonly found in northern China, and virtually non-existent in southern China back to which most Chinese Singaporeans trace their ancestry.

More research can be done to learn more about the presence of this surname in Singapore.

251123 - 阿兵哥从小听潮州话／19岁加入凤廓汾阳公会／编写会馆160年来首特刊

2025-11-23 [SM] (p4)

阿兵哥从小听潮州话
19岁加入凤廓汾阳公会
编写会馆160年来首特刊

李宣進 报道
庄耿闻 摄影

　　中学时代重拾潮州话，打开了家族历史和民俗文化的大门，19岁阿兵哥加入凤廓汾阳公会，在闲暇之余编写会馆160年来的首部特刊。

　　今年2月开始服兵役的郭璟佚是第四代新加坡人，祖籍潮州，父母根据 “凤廓郭氏” 的字辈为他取名。他从小在家听着潮州话长大，到了中学还在学校开课和同学们一起学习。

　　“家人说的潮州话掺杂不少马来语的词汇，让我对本地方言特别感兴趣。”

　　他受访时说，学习方言加深了对不同籍贯的认识，也促使他想要更了解 “凤廓郭氏” 的历史。去年，他曾两次走访位于芽笼26巷的凤廓汾阳公会，但会所都空无一人，直到公会在农历九月十六庆祝神明诞辰，才终于热闹起来。“在场的几位董事还对我阿公有印象，甚至去过他家，我才知道原来阿公生前曾经是公会的名誉会长。”

　　这段因缘巧合，让他决定加入凤廓汾阳公会，成为目前最年轻的会员，而公会独一无二的“三夫人”信仰，也让郭璟佚萌生编写特刊的念头。“我们的公会是本地唯一供奉‘三夫人’的场所，但之前没有人真正研究过。”

　　从去年考完A水准之后，他便忙于搜集史料，并且细心记载公会所收藏的每一件文物。今年初入伍后，他更是忙里抽闲，利用每一刻闲暇编写特刊，并将内容翻译成英文，以便有兴趣的年轻人轻松阅读。

　　特刊上个月完稿出版，并且于本月5日的160周年庆晚宴上分发给所有宾客。

　　“终于写完了，成就感是一定有的，但更多是松了一口气。”

会长：以他为傲

　　年过花甲的郭绪泽会长对这位 “后生仔”（年轻人）疼爱有加，强调会馆与时并进、吸引年轻人的同时，也不能摒弃奉献精神的核心价值观。

　　郭绪泽受访时表示，这本特刊不放任何广告，之后将分发到不同的学术机构和宗乡会馆，充分发挥其学术性价值。

　　“我们常说，有钱出钱，有力出力；而璟佚奉献了更加难能可贵的才华。我们的公会以他为傲！”

 

251019 - 65年历史／慈忠庙重建动土／扩充中医义诊所

2025-10-19 [SM] (p5)

65年历史
慈忠庙重建动土
扩充中医义诊所

李宣進 报道
蔡振鸿 摄影

　　已有65年历史的慈忠庙将花两年时间重建，从单层楼庙宇打造成双层楼建筑，也拓展中医义诊诊所规模。

　　坐落在麦波申路与阿裕尼路交界处的慈忠庙，于昨天上午10时举行动土仪式，主宾是律政部兼社会及家庭发展部高级政务次长蔡瑞隆，其他出席嘉宾包括马林百列—布莱德岭集选区议员陈佩玲，波东巴西单选区议员杨陞才，以及优联燃气控股有限公司总裁张学彬博士。

　　慈忠庙成立于1960年，供奉的是黄老仙师、大圣佛祖和太上老君。三年后，正式注册为“新加坡慈忠会”，并从芽笼搬到麦波申路门牌364D的现址。

　　1971年4月1日，慈忠会附设中医施诊所，50多年来免费赠医施药，为各族人士提供看诊和针灸服务。

　　慈忠会主席李其量和副总务王森庆受访时谈起庙宇历史，指庙宇曾历经三次翻新与粉刷，但由于空间不敷使用，加上建筑受到白蚁蛀蚀，因此选择重建。

　　新加坡慈忠会早前已向各界筹募捐款，并于2019年成功向土地局申请了30年的地契。经冠病疫情延误几年后，该庙于去年初在庙旁搭建了临时帐篷和集装箱，以便庙宇重建时仍能让善信参拜和继续提供看诊服务。

预计2027年竣工

 　　新建筑预计于2027年竣工，一楼将作为诊所和神堂，二楼则充当办公室。

　　届时，中医施诊所的面积将增加一倍，让两名医师可以同时看诊，每月的总看诊人数也将增加到400人左右。看诊时间是周一至周五，晚上7时到9时（农历初一、十五及庙庆除外）。为方便家属带病人来看诊，诊所也计划增设周六门诊服务。

　　庙方表示，诊所目前的经费均由该庙的中元会、舞狮团和潮州大锣鼓所募得，也希望善心人士能够慷慨解囊，确保诊所能够继续运营，回馈社会。

　　关于新加坡慈忠会的详情或捐款，可联系该庙的手机热线（89143627）。