“Playboy” Car Dealer Who “Lived Like A King” Now Fishball Hawker After Being Cheated By Biz Partners

“Playboy” who lived the high life before becoming hawker

Boss Ringo, a former car dealer, is quite the colourful character. During a chat with 8days.sg, he shares his colourful past where he led a life of fast cars, fast women and lavish living: “I ran a few car dealerships and was very successful. I was a playboy. Even though I have a wife (Jenny), I had many girlfriends, and one of them bore me two sons. I lived like a king and spent money like it was going out of style.” 

He adds: “Jenny and I are only husband and wife in name. We met at a disco [in the ‘80s] when she was just 16 and I married her so I could buy an HDB flat for my mum to live in. I told her many times to go find someone better, but she stuck by me all these years. She doesn’t mind my past and she lets me do as I please.”

Started from zero after being cheated by biz partners

After Ringo’s business partners cheated him of his businesses as well as some run-ins with the law including drink driving, he was left with nothing — not even his properties. When his girlfriend left him and their sons around 10 years ago, he decided to start from zero, working three jobs to raise his kids. “I rented a one-bedder from HDB, worked in a pau shop and as a lorry driver by day, and security guard by night for about a year,” shares Ringo.

Though he had no cooking experience, Ringo aspired to start his own fishball noodle biz after trying the handmade fishballs from popular hawker chain Ru Ji Kitchen. He approached the boss for a job in hopes of learning the ropes and was employed as a cashier at their outlet at Old Airport Road Food Centre.