Lee Choo Neo
Lee Choo Neo | |
|---|---|
李珠娘 | |
 Lee, c. 1923 | |
| Born | 7 September 1895 |
| Died | 7 September 1947 (aged 52) |
| Education | Singapore Chinese Girls' School Raffles Girls' School King Edward VII College of Medicine |
| Occupation | Doctor |
| Known for | First female doctor in Singapore |
| Spouse | Teo Koon Lim (m. 1923) |
| Children | Lionel Teo (son) Eileen Teo (daughter) Winnie Teo (daughter) |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Lee Chin Koon (younger half-brother) Chua Jim Neo (sister-in-law) Lee Kuan Yew (nephew) Lee Hsien Loong (grandnephew) Lee Wei Ling (grandniece) Lee Hsien Yang (grandnephew) |
Lee Choo Neo (Chinese: 李珠娘; pinyin: Lǐ Zhūniáng; 7 September 1895 – 7 September 1947) was the first female medical doctor to practice in Singapore.[1] Her father, Lee Hoon Leong, was a merchant of Hakka descent.[2] Her mother was her father's second wife, Mak Hup Sin, who was of Cantonese descent.[1] Lee Choo Neo was also the aunt of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's first Prime Minister; his father was her half-brother Lee Chin Koon.[1]
History
[edit]Lee attended Singapore Chinese Girls’ School and Raffles Girls’ School.[3] In 1911 Lee Choo Neo became the first Straits Chinese girl to earn the Senior Cambridge Certificate, and in 1919 she graduated from King Edward VII College of Medicine, Singapore.[1][4] She originally served as an assistant surgeon, overseeing two women's wards at the General Hospital.[1]
Lee Choo Neo married Teo Koon Lim at 114 Emerald Hill on 21 September 1923 and had a son, Lionel Teo Cheng Ann, and two daughters, Eileen Teo Cheng Sim, Winnie Teo Cheng Kim. After several years in the government service, she resigned and followed her husband to Kuala Lumpur who had business there. However, in 1930, she went back to Singapore and opened her own clinic Lee Dispensary on Bras Basah Road, which specialized in maternity care.[1]
In addition to her medical work, she was a founder of the Chinese Ladies' Association of Malaya (later called the Chinese Women's Association), founded in 1915, which raised funds for war, taught domestic skills, introduced outdoor sports, and sponsored a rescue home for at-risk women.[1][2] She served as the Association's honorary secretary for many years.[1] In 1925 she and two other women were appointed to the Chinese Marriage Committee, which was investigating the need for laws to govern Chinese marriage and divorce in the Straits Settlements.[1] The Chinese Marriage Committee found that women wanted an end to polygamy, while men did not; their findings were a preliminary to the 1961 passage of the Women's Charter, which outlawed polygamy.[1]
Lee Choo Neo died on 7 September 1947, and her grave is located in Singapore in the Bukit Brown Chinese Cemetery.[5]
The Singapore Women's Hall of Fame was created in 2014, and Lee Choo Neo was inducted into it that same year, under the category "Health."[1][6]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k SWHF. "SINGAPORE WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME - Lee Choo Neo". Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ a b "They helped shape today's Singapore". AsiaOne. Archived from the original on 13 January 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Great Peranakans: Fifty Remarkable Lives" (PDF). National Heritage Board. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 June 2022.
- ^ Michael Backman (5 April 2004). The Asian Insider: Unconventional Wisdom for Asian Business. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-1-4039-4840-3.
- ^ "Lee Choo Neo Classic Feng Shui Mastery". Classic Feng Shui Mastery. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
- ^ "Launch of Singapore Women's Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 23 November 2015.
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