The First Lady of Singapore Medicine

Raised in a forward-thinking Straits Chinese household, Dr Lee attended the Singapore Chinese Girls’ School and Raffles Girls’ School at a time when entrenched social norms largely expected women to manage domestic responsibilities. A trailblazer throughout her life, she became the first Straits Chinese girl in Singapore to obtain her Senior Cambridge Certificate in 1911. She then set her sights on a medical career — an audacious decision that was encouraged by her father but drew scepticism from many quarters. Undeterred, she enrolled at the King Edward VII Medical School (the precursor to today’s National University of Singapore). 

While a student at the Medical School in 1913, she contributed an article to London’s Queen magazine, detailing the circumscribed life of the Straits-born Chinese girl and noting that the “monotony is intolerable” and that “no English girl would ever dream of…being kept so out of contact with the world.” Still, she was also optimistic in her observations, declaring that a “perceptible change” had taken hold in Singapore society in recent years, with parents increasingly aware of the “benefits derived from the little liberty and education which they allow their daughters.”

Following her graduation, Dr Lee worked at the Kandang Kerbau Hospital and General Hospital in the 1920s, where she was Lady Assistant Surgeon in charge of the Native Female Ward. In the following decade, she established her own medical practice, focusing on maternal and child health. At a time when specialised care for women was scarce, she offered essential support, ensuring expectant mothers and infants had access to competent, empathetic treatment. Archives from various historical records highlight her resolve to improve healthcare standards, as well as her determination to uplift the wider community.

She balanced these professional commitments alongside her personal life, marrying Mr Teo Koon Lim in 1922, and continuing her medical work while navigating the responsibilities of family life and rearing three adopted children. This dual role was a rarity for a woman of her generation, reflecting both her resilience and adaptability.

During the Japanese invasion of Singapore in World War II, Dr Lee and her family were spared the fate of many Singaporeans due to the kindness of their former neighbour, Nachang Tsutada, son of Japanese dentist Kenri Tsutada.

Now a lieutenant in the Japanese army, Nachang offered protection to the family and enabled Dr Lee to obtain a special pass that let her continue to run her car, a necessity for her medical work. Indeed, during the war, her clinic at Bras Basah Road helped to serve many war casualties.

An advocate for social welfare and reform throughout her life, Dr Lee was a founding member of the Chinese Ladies’ Association of Malaya (renamed the Chinese Women’s Association in 1960) in 1915, where she supported health and educational initiatives for women and served as honorary secretary for many years. She was also one of three women appointed to the Chinese Marriage Committee in 1925, the findings of which helped to presage the passing of the Women’s Charter that outlawed polygamy in 1961. 

In her spare time, Dr Lee’s interests were diverse: she was an avid tennis player and reader, accomplished in embroidery and crochet, painted in oils, and played both piano and the violin. She was also interested in Malay drama, writing, acting and co-directing the comedy Mustapha, which was presented at the Victoria Theatre in 1912.