Lawrence Basapa is a Singaporean businessman who used to work as a Straits Times journalist in his early adulthood. In April 1970, the paper published a consecutive weekly series of feature articles on the history of prostitution in Singapore written by him.
He is the son of Thomas Augustine Basapa, who was the grandson of Hunmah Somapah, a pioneer in the property business in Singapore. Lawrence Basapa is also the co-founder and director of BASCO, an online platform that connects boat owners, buyers and sellers. He is married to Celeste Basapa, a philanthropist and avid fundraiser. They have one daughter, Gayle.
Lawrence Basapa’s grandfather, William Lawrence Soma Basapa, was also known as the “Animal Man” because of his passion for collecting and trading exotic animals. He established Singapore’s first private zoo and bird park at Punggol in 1928, which housed over 200 species of animals and birds, including tigers, lions, bears, monkeys, crocodiles, flamingos and peacocks. He also donated many specimens to the Raffles Museum (now the National Museum of Singapore) and was a founding member of the Malayan Zoological Society. He died in 1943 during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore.
Lawrence Basapa's family history is part of the content for the Indian Heritage Centre’s permanent gallery on Indian Pioneers in Singapore. The Indian Heritage Centre is a cultural institution that showcases the diverse heritage and culture of the Indian community in Singapore and Southeast Asia. It is located at the junction of Campbell Lane and Clive Street in Little India.
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http://www.singaporebasapa.com/introduction.html
Acknowledgements[]
This article was written initially by Roy Tan.