Tan Tiang Po

Tan Tiang Po, Lieutenant der Chinezen (1846–1912), also spelled Tan Tjeng Po, was a colonial Chinese-Indonesian bureaucrat, landowner, philanthropist and the penultimate Landheer (landlord) of the domain (particuliere land) of Batoe-Tjepper in the Dutch East Indies.

Background and family Born in 1846 in Batavia (now Jakarta), Tan hailed from the 'Cabang Atas' or the Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia on both sides of his family. His father, the magnate Tan Kang Soeij (1827 – 1867), served as Luitenant der Chinezen of Weltevreden and sat on the Chinese Council (Kong Koan) of Batavia from 1860 to 1866. Through his father, Tan was a grandson of the tycoon and pachter (revenue farmer) Tan Leng (1801 – 1851), part of the powerful Ngo Ho Tjiang Kongsi.

Probably some years after his father's acquisition in 1862 of the particuliere land of Batoe-Tjepper in Tangerang, Tan Tiang Po Sia moved there as administrator of the estate. Tan served as Luitenant until 1885, when he requested and was granted an honourable discharge. The colonial press noted that his remains were brought back by automobile for burial at Batoe-Tjepper. A significant part of Tan's landholdings now forms part of Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, while the elite suburb of Pantai Indah Kapuk occupies part of N. V. Landbouw Tan Tiang Po’s leasehold of Kapoek.