TST founder laid to rest with his wife, in country he loved

By HELEN TARAWA
A TYPICAL Chinese funeral was arranged for Tins Siew Tan (TST), the founder of TST group of companies, on Saturday, at his Boroko residence to farewell him.
Due to the Covid-19 lockdown and restrictions in Port Moresby, only a few friends and family members from the Chinese and Malaysian communities, Papua New Guineans and some of his children gathered to pay their respect.
His fourth son from his Rabaul-born Chinese wife, Albert Tan, said his father loved PNG from the day he arrived when he was about 21 years old.
“My father started the TST Group and we’ve always had the best interest of this country at heart,” he said.
“This was his country and he didn’t want to go anywhere else but to be laid to rest here.
“He was a real Papua New Guinean, he loved this country and called it home.”
Tan also started DHL, the express mail delivery company, in PNG in 1978.
Albert said many Chinese-Papua New Guineans had left and those of his dad’s age group were not able to attend the funeral service because of the Covid-19.
He said the Chinese had a tradition of burying the dead – either on the first day after the death, the third day or the seventh day – for blessings.
“Saturday was the seventh day and his body was cremated and the ashes put together at our mum’s grave at Bomana,” Albert said.