Old Thong Chai Medical Institution - History

History

In 1867, two Chinese merchants got together to set up Singapore's first traditional Chinese medical institution for the poor. These compassionate men saw an urgent need for a charitable organisation that provided medical advice and assistance to those who could not afford to pay for it.

Thong Chai dispensed free medical consultation, treatment and herbal medicines to the poor, regardless of race or religion. Its sincere efforts were appreciated and recognised and more benefactors joined its ranks. They came from all Chinese communities: Cantonese, Hoklo (Hokkien), Teochew, Hainanese and Hakka.

Initially, Thong Chai operated out of a small rented shophouse on Upper Pickering Street, then known as Upper Macao Street. It was then called Tong Chay Ee Say. In 1892, it bought the building at 50 Eu Tong Sen Street, with which it has become most strongly associated, and changed its name to Thong Chai Medical Institution.

From this building, Thong Chai continued to serve the poor and sick but it also became a centre for business and political activities. Several clan associations set up their headquarters there; the Chinese Chamber of Commerce was conceived in this building, and its first office operated there until 1906 when it moved to its own premises. In the early years of the twentieth century, when political tensions between China and Japan rose high, Chinese loyalists held public meetings at Thong Chai to garner support for their motherland.

Thong Chai Medical Institution is now located in a ten-storey building in Chin Swee Road, carrying on the Thong Chai tradition much in the way of its predecessors.

The Old Thong Chai Medical Institution was gazetted as a national monument on 6 July 1973.