He came from a family of Hakka farmers. His father and brother sailed to the southern ocean (aka as Nanyang at the time) to seek their fortune. He was left behind to care for his mother and attend to the farm. The two who left did not return or send news of their whereabouts. Twenty year-old Chung Keng Kwee was asked to get married (wife to care for his mother) then sent to look for them. He went to Penang and later moved to the tin mines in Larut where he eventually caught up with the duo.
The work force at the tin mines were controlled by secret societies like Hai San and Ghee Hin. He started his own mining business and was appointed leader of the Hai San Secret Society until it was disbanded. He was one of the signatories of the Pangkor Engagement 1874. (whatever that was.) He sat on the Perak State Council.
A philanthropist and benefactor to many public cemeteries and temples, Kapitan Chung donated magnanimously to alleviate poverty, improve education and for disaster relief. For his humanitarian act, the Manchu Imperial Government conceded him the title of "Mandarin of the Second Rank". He was succeeded by his fourth son, the last Chinese Kapitan.
This son was reported to have built a mansion on a hillock at Gurney Drive with an extensive subterranean level under the sea where diners were able to see fishes swimming across the ceiling. Unfortunately, the mansion was demolished in the sixties to make way for a new condominium.
* One of his descendant (Owen Chung) was the bodyguard, University mate and personal friend of the first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.
To the left of Hai Kee Chan, Kapitan Chung built his ancestral temple. Off one of its wall, a secret door led to underground exits and compartments. The Man had many enemies.
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A path to the left of this temple led to a well at the backyard where stories were told of captured triad enemies, beheaded and dropped into the well only to find their way out to the open sea. Similar stories were said to happen during the Japanese Occupation. (The well have since been filled.) The ancestral temple is now renamed Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee's Memorial Hall
Entrance to the ancestral temple. (Taken from the inside) Two doors and two thresholds. The outer threshold is higher than the inner. According to our guide (the foreigner), the higher threshold on the outer door prevents zombies from leaping into the temple, or out!
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Lower threshold on inner door. This threshold (according to the guide) was placed here to ensure that anyone entering the temple would first bow their heads in reverence. (You need to look down to see where your feet is taking you.)
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