This group of sculptures is another piece of Aw Tee Hong’s creations. Its shows a seated Alexandre Laurie Johnston, a prominent Scottish merchant of the early days, negotiating with a Chinese trader and a Malay chief, while the Indian and Chinese coolies were loading goods onto a bullock cart. In 1820, Johnston had set up his company at the spot (present-day Maybank Tower), where the statues are currently standing. It was then commonly known as Tanjong Tangkap (means “catch” in Malay), because Johnston’s godown was nearest to the Singapore River’s mouth and he would be the first to “catch hold” of the merchant captains as their boats entered the river.