Lee Chin Koon

Lee was born on 1 June 1903 in the port city of Semarang, Central Java, during Dutch colonial rule. He was from an upper-class family of Straits Chinese descent and was raised in an English-speaking household.^[1] His parents were Hakka-Peranakan Lee Hoon Leong (1871–1942) and Indonesian-Peranakan Ko Liem Nio (1883–1959).^[2]

His father, Lee Hoon Leong, worked as a pharmacist and later became a purser at Heap Eng Moh Shipping Line. His family later moved to Singapore when he was five, where he studied at St. Joseph's Institution.^[2]

During the Great Depression, Lee's family was affected but,^[1] in the 1930s, he managed to secure a job as a storekeeper for Shell Oil Company, later becoming a manager after World War II.^[2] He later worked at a shop at High Street named B.P. de Silva, selling watches and jewellery.^[3]

In 1957, he helped his son Lee Kuan Yew campaign at the Tanjong Pagar by-election.^[4]

Lee married Chua Jim Neo (1905–1980) on 20 May 1922 when he was 18 and she was 16 in a traditional Chinese arranged marriage by Chua's family.^[5] Together they had 5 children including the first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew.^[6] In 1945, Lee and Chua bought a bungalow at 38 Oxley Road.^[1] Lee was a frequent gambler, usually being stood up by Chua when he went to gamble.^[7]

In 1959, after Lee Kuan Yew was elected Prime Minister, Lee led a mostly private life, having told a cousin, "I don't like publicity."^[8]