Tay Koh Yat

Tay Koh Yat (1880 — 29 January 1957) was an entrepreneur and a leader of the Chinese community in Singapore.

Early life Tay was born in Kinmen in 1880. He came to Singapore at the age of 22.

Career In 1910, he joined Chop Guan Seng Hin. In 1912, he established the Guan Soon Company. He established the Aik Seng Hin Company in 1921. The following year, he established the Chin Joo Seng Company, which imported Indonesian produce into Singapore. He established the Tay Koh Yat Bus Company in 1938. The company had become the largest Chinese bus company in Singapore by 1949. He returned to Singapore after the end of the war and began compiling a list of members of the Chinese Civil Defence who had been killed in the war. He then requested compensation from the government to the members' families.

Death He died on 29 January 1957. His funeral procession followed the route of the buses owned by his company before arriving at the Bukit Brown Cemetery, where he was buried.