In 1884, when Kapitein Tiang Keng died in office, Luitenant Tan Tjin Kie was passed over in the succession in favor of an older officer; but, two of his in-laws, the cousins Kwee Keng Eng and Kwee Keng Liem (husbands of the Luitenant’s sister and cousin respectively), were both raised to the post of Luitenant der Chinezen.