By Desmond Ng

He may have been a very frugal person but when it came to his employees, he was very generous - especially when it came to food.

That's what social entrepreneur Angella Chang, 47, remembers of property tycoon Ng Teng Fong, 82, who died on Tuesday from a brain haemorrhage.

Mr Ng, Singapore's richest man, was the chairman of Far East Organization (FEO) - the largest private property developer in Singapore.

Ms Chang called The New Paper after reading our report yesterday which called on readers to contact us if Mr Ng had touched their lives in any special way.

She said she used to work directly under Mr Ng as a project administrator in the company from 1981 to 1982.

Ms Chang had just finished junior college then, and her job was to ensure that the architects submitted the plans to the authorities on time.

She said Mr Ng looked fierce, but he was a generous boss.

Lunch provided

Lunch was provided every day for all the staff - which numbered just under 100 back then - in the office, which was on the 15th and 16th floor of Far East Shopping Centre.

She said: "Every morning, a list would be passed around and you could tick what you wanted - noodles, duck rice or chicken rice. The office boy would consolidate the list and return with your orders at lunch time."

Dinner would be provided free too, if the staff stayed later than 7pm. The official working time was from 9am to 6pm.

She said: "The moment you had to stay late, there'd be dinner provided. There was a cook who would plan the food and deliver it via tingkat (tiffin carrier) to the office."

Mr Ng would eat with the staff, but he usually had his dinner alone in his office.

And every year on his birthday, the whole office would be invited to his current home at Watten Estate, where a 10-course spread would be served.

There would be tentage put up in the garden, with 10 to 12 tables to accommodate the guests.

Said Ms Chang: "I remembered that the food was catered from Majestic Restaurant. We had sharks' fins and birds' nest with coconut milk.

"He wouldn't accept any presents or hongbaos. He always instructed the heads of department to tell us not to give him anything."

She said that where work was concerned, Mr Ng was very detailed, practical and careful.

"When it came to architectural designs, he would ensure that the design was contemporary and there was no wastage of space."

And if the company was going to tender for a project with the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), for example, he would make the project team stay late as he would release the tender price to them only late at night.

She said: "This was so that our competitors or the media wouldn't find out about our price. And early the next morning, the project manager would submit the tender."

She said she used to earn about $400 a month then, and Mr Ng was generous with bonus - giving three to four months' worth for their hard work.

Mr Ng usually turned up for work in a long-sleeved shirt and pants and with a chauffeur who doubled up as his bodyguard.

Ms Chang said that she felt sad upon hearing about his death.

She said: "All fine things must end. Whether you're a billionaire or a pauper, we cannot avoid death."

desmondn@sph.com.sg

This article was first published in The New Paper.