Text by Victor Yue

This morning, I passed by the Hor Lor Beo at Seng Poh Rd/Tiong Bahru Rd junction at 11am. It was bright and something was amiss. Yes, the canopy normally in front of the temple is gone. So were almost all the statues of the temple, save the five original statues (of Kong Teik Chun Ong).

Met Yik Han there. He was painstakingly copying the contents of the granite slab. I asked Shanghai Joe about its future. He could not tell. Mr. Ong from the Birdshop (that is in Tiong Bahru’s first garage, as I understand from Geraldene) is keeping the contacts of anyone interested in the temple’s granite and marble slabs and I suppose he will alert the persons should the temple come down. Cheng Hee, I think I saw your name there.

He also told me that he has scrubbed the signage inside the temple to show the last donor. He told me that the Huang Zu Yao and the family used to visit the temple in their Rolls Royce (License Plate 21?) He is hoping that the donor would save the temple. But when asked, no one really knows the fate of the physical building of this temple.

While we talked, some worshippers came by and was shocked to see an almost empty shell. But Kong Teik Choon Ong was still there and so was the joss-urn, and so, they proceeded to do their offerings and prayers. It was as if half the life of the temple was already gone. However, I am sure, until further changes, the five statues of Kong Teik Choon Ong will be the focus of the worshippers in the days ahead.

And so, the Wei Teng Beo, aka Hor Lor Beo, aka Siong Ong Kong Beo aka Wei Teng Beo Kong Teik Choon Ong, has reached another milestone of its history.