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 for the hard beds occupied by the dying. According to Milwaukee Sentinel in 1957, “about 70 persons a month come to each of the houses to die in loneliness”. The death houses never closed their doors, workers took shifts by day and night and kept the business running 24/7. 1960s: The poor conditions of these houses of Sago lane soon attracted international attention. In 1961, the newly elected government quickly stepped in to place a ban on these houses. The death houses began to close down and number of houses dwindled. Existing death houses converted to funeral parlors instead. Sago