• Sago Lane has been known by several names in Chinese over the course of its history. In the 1840s, it was called “沙莪巷” in reference to the many sago factories around the road. Sago Lane and Sago Street were named after the pronunciations of “sago” in Chinese dialects, such as “硕 莪”, “沙莪” or “沙谷米”. It was also known as “贺万年后街” and “番寨尾”, with “贺万年” being the name of a singing hall formerly located there, and “番寨” being a reference to the Japanese prostitutes who used to ply their trade along this street.
• Later, as funeral parlours, coffin shops, and shops selling paper offerings began to appear at Sago Lane, it became colloquially known as “死人街” (meaning “street of the dead”; sei yan gai in Cantonese).
• As the Cantonese referred to funeral parlours as “大难馆”, Sago Lane was also colloquially known as “大难馆街”, with “街” meaning “street”.
• In addition to handling funeral matters, the funeral parlours at Sago Lane also set up “养病所”, which were essentially shelters for chronically and terminally ill patients to live out their last days.
• At the end of 1982, with the relocation of the last funeral parlour out of Sago Lane, the name “死人街” became history.

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple is located at Sago Lane, where there were previously many funeral parlours, coffin shops, and shops selling paper offerings, incense and candles. Affiliated with the funeral parlours were the “death houses” where terminally ill patients were taken care of. This was a unique sight in early Singapore. (Lianhe Zaobao, 17/1/2019)

There was a rickshaw station in Sago Lane in the 1920s.