Welcome to Chronicles of Old Singapore. Charles Ngui answers my questions: does Clementi have a heritage trail? Were there villages serving the British in Old Clementi Road? He tells of the levelling of the hills as development arrived in the ‘70s and a little-known story of how Ngee Ann Kongsi played a proactive role in property development.

Charles Ngui was one of the young officers who joined the early Economic Development Board. He has a deep working knowledge of the tool and die industry, and the businesses, big and small, in Singapore in the ‘70s and ‘80s.