# Roland Tan > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roland_Tan > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roland_Tan.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Tan > Source revision: 1353543146 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Singaporean-born Denmark-based gangster and businessman (c.1948–2020)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Roland Tan | image_name = Roland Tan.png | image_caption = Roland Tan in the 1960s | birth_name = Tan Tong Meng | birth_date = {{circa}} 1948 | birth_place = [Serangoon](/source/Serangoon), Singapore | death_date = 4 April 2020 (aged 72) | death_place = [Havneholmen](/source/Havneholmen%2C_Copenhagen), [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen), Denmark | resting_place = | charge = | conviction_penalty = | occupation = [Gangster](/source/Gangster), [restaurateur](/source/restaurateur) | other_names = Mr. Big | known_for = Founding member of [Ah Kong](/source/Ah_Kong) | signature = | allegiance = }} '''Roland Tan Tong Meng''' ({{zh|陈同明}}; {{circa}} 1948{{spaced ndash}}4 April 2020), sometimes known by the nickname '''Mr. Big''', was a Singaporean gangster and businessman based in Denmark. Initially attaining notoriety for his alleged involvement in a murder in October 1969, Tan fled to the Netherlands where he began his reign as a drug baron. He died of a heart attack in Copenhagen, after being at large for over 50 years. ==Career== Born Tan Tong Meng ({{lang|zh|陈同明}}) and raised in a ''[kampung](/source/kampung)'' in [Serangoon](/source/Serangoon), Singapore,{{cite news|newspaper=Today|title=Price of a high life|first=Ansley|last=Ng|page=1|date=9 January 2009}} Tan began his career as a gangster known as "Hylam Kia" (dialect for "Hainanese Boy") patrolling [Bras Basah Road](/source/Bras_Basah_Road), Purvis Street, and [Middle Road](/source/Middle_Road%2C_Singapore).{{cite news|newspaper=The Straits Times|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/dead-after-51-years-on-the-run|title=Once Singapore's most wanted, gangster Roland Tan dies after 51 years on the run|date=10 May 2020|last=Lim|first=Joyce}} {{Closed access}} He was arrested at least once during the 1960s. On 24 October 1969, at approximately 12:30 am [local time](/source/Singapore_Standard_Time) ([UTC+08:00](/source/UTC%2B08%3A00)), Tan and his fellow gang members fatally assaulted rival gang member Lam Cheng Siew, aged 31. Tan had also grievously injured a nightclub singer, Lim Kai Ho, who survived. Tan fled to [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam), [Netherlands](/source/Netherlands), via [Malaysia](/source/Malaysia), with the assistance of the Singaporean See Tong gang. He became number one on Singapore's list of most wanted fugitives, with local authorities offering a $2,000 bounty in their search for him. An extradition attempt in 1973 was unsuccessful due to insufficient evidence to prove the charge of [murder](/source/murder) which Tan faced for causing Lam's death. In Amsterdam, Tan oversaw operations by which [recreational drug](/source/Recreational_drug_use)s were illegally produced and distributed, expanding his business through violent means. He became one of the founding members of the drug syndicate [Ah Kong](/source/Ah_Kong) which dethroned the Hong Kong triad [14K](/source/14K_(triad)) as the leading drug trader in Amsterdam and Western Europe.{{cite news|title=The Bureau's Fight for a #DrugFreeSG|url=https://www.cnb.gov.sg/docs/default-source/pdfs/a_mha_cnb_commemorativebook_r6_fa_r1_lowres.pdf|work=Central Narcotics Bureau - 50th anniversary Commemorative Book}} At its peak, Ah Kong had over a hundred members with operations in countries like [Australia](/source/Australia), [Cambodia](/source/Cambodia), and [Spain](/source/Spain). Tan eventually relinquished control of Ah Kong, moving to [Copenhagen](/source/Copenhagen) in the 1980s where he established the restaurant Bali and married a local. He also successfully applied for residency in Denmark. ==Later years and death== On 5 January 2009, ahead of his birthday party at his restaurant in Copenhagen, Tan was shot in the shoulder by an assailant later identified by Danish tabloid ''[Ekstra Bladet](/source/Ekstra_Bladet)'' as Vietnamese [heroin](/source/heroin) smuggler Nguyen Phi Hung (born {{circa}} 1962) who had allegedly gotten into a dispute with Tan over financial matters.{{cite news|newspaper=Ekstra Bladet|url=https://ekstrabladet.dk/112/article4296599.ece|title=Intet spor af eftersøgt|date=8 January 2009|last=Pedersen|first=Thea|language=Danish}}{{cite news|newspaper=Ekstra Bladet|url=https://ekstrabladet.dk/112/article4295613.ece|title=Mr. Big har lånt millioner af kroner|language=Danish|date=13 January 2009|last=Mynderup|first=John}}{{cite news|url=https://www.asiaone.com/News/the%2BStraits%2BTimes/Story/A1Story20090109-113376.html|title=Victim could be fugitive who fled Singapore in the 70s|date=9 January 2009|first1=Joo Lin|last1=Teh|first2=Sujin|last2=Thomas|newspaper=The Straits Times}} The gunman also shot a Singaporean friend of Tan's in the abdomen, who remained in a coma after being evacuated to the [Singapore General Hospital](/source/Singapore_General_Hospital) in Singapore.{{cite news|newspaper=The New Paper|date=8 January 2009|title=Shot in chest, Singaporean remains in coma|page=2|last=Yong|first=Amanda}}{{cite news|newspaper=The Straits Times|first=Sujin|last=Thomas|page=25|title=S'porean victim back and now in SGH|date=12 February 2009}} Tan relocated to [Cambodia](/source/Cambodia) after closing his restaurant but returned to Denmark in 2019. He died on 4 April 2020, aged 72, during a dinner party at his residence in [Havneholmen](/source/Havneholmen%2C_Copenhagen), Copenhagen. The cause of death was reportedly [myocardial infarction](/source/myocardial_infarction). At the time of his death, he had been at large for some 51 years. The first reports of Tan's death came from ''Ekstra Bladet''. Tan's funeral in Frederiksberg, Denmark had around a hundred attendees, including police officers and members of the [Bandidos](/source/Bandidos_Motorcycle_Club) and [Hells Angels](/source/Hells_Angels) [motorcycle club](/source/Outlaw_motorcycle_club)s. ==Personal life== Nicknamed by the Danish media as "Mr. Big", Living in Denmark, Tan often missed [Singaporean cuisine](/source/Singaporean_cuisine) and would have dishes like ''[laksa](/source/laksa)'', ''[char kway teow](/source/char_kway_teow)'', and ''[yong tau foo](/source/yong_tau_foo)'' delivered to him by [Singapore Airlines](/source/Singapore_Airlines) (SIA) flight attendants traveling to Denmark. He was an avid gambler who preferred [Chinese poker](/source/Chinese_poker) and ''[dai di](/source/Big_two)''. Although he spent the bulk of his life living in Europe, Tan was more comfortable conversing in [Singaporean Hokkien](/source/Singaporean_Hokkien). ==References== {{Reflist}} {{authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Tan, Roland}} Category:1940s births Category:2020 deaths Category:Singaporean gangsters Category:Businesspeople from Amsterdam Category:Businesspeople from Copenhagen Category:Naturalised citizens of Denmark Category:Murder in Singapore Category:Singaporean murderers Category:Fugitives wanted by Singapore Category:Triad members --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roland Tan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Tan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Tan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.