Sago Lane the dead", but it's actually on Sago Lane. Sago Street was where brothels were located. Sago Lane is known as "ho ba ni au koi" in Hokkien, which literally means "the street behind Ho Man Nin". Ho Man Nin is the "chop" of a well known singing hall in neighbouring Sago Street. 19th century: The lane received its name because during the 1840s, there were numerous sago factories in both Sago Street and Lane. The sago was then taken from the powdery pith of the trunk of the rumbia palm and processed into flour that was used to make desserts,
Sago Lane textile starch and hospital food. After processing, it was mostly re-exported to Europe and India. Sago became a staple export item for Singapore in 1834. In 1849, there were 15 Chinese and 2 European Sago factories in the area.Sago lane and Sago street became a prosperous manufacturing centre. During the 1850s, there were thirty sago factories in the town which had a total output of 8,000 tons annually. Many of the sago factories were in the Sago Street area. Sago lane in particular, was occupied by the Cantonese. Many of these factory workers lived in the area of these factories,