The Grand Repose 

ONG SAM LEONG 王三龍  (1857–1918) YEO HEAN NEO 楊賢娘 (1852–1935)
Place of Ancestry: Kinmen (金門)

Sited atop Bukit Brown’s tallest hill, the grandest tomb in this cemetery sprawls over 600 square meters—roughly the size of ten HDB flats. Known as Seh Ong Hill or Tai Yuan Hill, this land was once purchased by the Ong Clan, said to trace its roots to Tai Yuan in Shanxi, China. Here lies Ong Sam Leong, a self-made business tycoon whose ventures spanned Singapore, Malaysia, and beyond.

Born into humble beginnings with little education, Ong had an instinct for enterprise. At 29, he secured an exclusive contract supplying Chinese laborers, largely from Guangdong, to Christmas Island’s phosphate mines. His operations extended to a sundry shop on the island to cater to the workers, who laboured under harsh and difficult conditions in the mines.

Ong also expanded into construction, and established brickworks in Indonesia, sawmills in Singapore, and timber concessions in Malaysia. He played a significant role in the region’s early 20th-century prosperity. His flagship firm, Ong Sam Leong & Co., operated from South Canal and North Bridge Roads. Today, Sam Leong Road, a quiet stretch in Little India, bears his name. During World War I, he generously supported the Straits Chinese patriotic movement.

A sociable man, Ong presided over the Bun Chye Ho Club, Singapore’s oldest Chinese social club. He relished motoring and sea voyages, and in his final years, built Bukit Rose, a lavish Bukit Timah home where he hosted friends. Ong passed away in 1918, when he was 60 years old.

Ong’s wife, Yeo Hean Neo, came from a prominent family and was renowned for her charity. Her obituary noted, “No one who ever turned to her for help was turned away empty-handed.” She joined her husband in the grand tomb after her death in 1935. 

The Ong’s sons rest in the same burial compound. Ong Boon Tat and Ong Peng Hock inherited their father’s fortune and flair for business, and the brothers ventured into entertainment, co-founding the New World Theme Park with the Shaw Brothers in 1923. The Park closed in 1987, and City Square Mall today stands in its place. Another legacy of the Ong brothers left today is Boon Tat Street in Telok Ayer, which honours the elder son. 

The burial grounds of the Ong family are designed on Feng Shui principles to bring forth abundance of wealth and plenty of children for the future generations. Designed with feng shui principles, the site channels prosperity and fertility. A half-moon granite platform—the ming tang (bright hall)—gathers auspicious energy. A tiled courtyard and a now-dry moat once cradled flowing water, drained through decorative faucets flanking the tomb.

Video by James Tann

Intricate carvings adorn the grounds, including the 24 Paragons of Filial Piety—Confucian tales of devotion—and the Eight Immortals, imparting moral lessons. A sizable earth deity shrine, often mistaken for a tomb, guards the site.

Hidden by lush foliage, Ong Sam Leong’s grave was rediscovered in the early 2000s. From the road, a makeshift shed marks the path leading uphill to this silent monument of ambition, family, and enduring legacy.