J. P. Hume, British Resident, Perak, conferred on him the title of "Kapitan China", in all probability, the last of the Chinese Kapitans in Malaya. He was installed by the Sultan of Perak in Kuala Kangsar amidst much traditional pomp and pageantry. His appointment was so popular with the community that he was escorted to Kuala Kangsar by the delegates of more than 70 Chinese organisations from Perak. Later that year he was invited to Kuala Lumpur to give his views to the Trade Depression Commission during its two day's sitting in camera. He was appointed trustee of the resuscitated Perak Miners' and Planters' association in 1922. In July 1923 he was elected the first president of the newly inaugurated British Chinese Association. In November 1923, at the annual general meeting of the Perak Chinese Dramatic Club, he was elected Patron. He presided over the Association of States and Straits Representatives (representing Chinese born in the Federated Malay States and the Straits Settlements) in 1923. In 1926, together with Leong Sin Nam he was elected an honorary member of the Ipoh Club, whose members till then were restricted to the European community. The Times of Malaya said this was a compliment which should further cement the good feeling existing between the European and Chinese communities in Kinta. In the name of His Majesty the King, His Excellency the High Commissioner awarded him a Certificate of Honour in recognition of his loyal and valuable services to the government of the F. M. S. in June 2007. He was presented the Malayan Certificate of Honour and its accompanying insignia by the Chief Secretary, F. M. S., Sir William Peel, in the throne room at Istana Nagara, Kuala Kangsar in August 1928, having received the same award on the occasion of H. M. the King-Emperor's birthday the year before. According to berita.perak.gov.my, Foo Yet Kai, another Perak philanthropist, bought Chung Thye Phin's villa in Ipoh from the family of the late Kapitan and later gave permission for it to be converted into a private hospital, then known as Our Lady's Hospital and run by the Franciscan Sisters from Salzkotten, Germany. The hospital subsequently was renamed Kinta Medical Centre in the 1980s when the Foo Yet Kai Foundation took over the administration. In 1905 together with a few others, he maintained 'Seng Kee' a Mess patronized by wealthy miners and merchants including Foo Choo