51-year-old founder of Hup Lee Fried Bee Hoon chain dies of heart failure, 2 years after ALS diagnosis

F&B entrepreneur Tan Boon Hai, who expanded his parents' bee hoon stall in Yishun to 90 outlets islandwide at its peak, died of heart failure on Thursday (May 2).

The founder of the Hup Lee Fried Bee Hoon chain was 51 years old.

In an obituary posted on Facebook, Tan was described as a "loving husband, son, uncle, brother and friend".

Speaking at his wake in Yio Chu Kang on Saturday, Tan's wife Huang Suling (transliteration), told Shin Min Daily News that Tan had honed his culinary skills from a young age, helping his mother at the stall.

Armed with just secondary school qualifications, Tan had ambitions to expand his parents' hawker business since he was 18, Huang said, adding that he would jot down his plans in a diary.

After completing National Service, Tan opened his first stall with the Hup Lee name in Woodlands — using savings he had accumulated from working at the family stall.

He later opened three more stalls, and a factory to mass-produce chili sauce, marinades and bee hoon.

Shin Min reported that after inviting relatives and friends to join the business, an average of three Hup Lee Bee Hoon stalls popped up every month in the year 2000, expanding to 90 stalls in 10 years. 

But in February 2022, Tan was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) after noticing weakness in his hand, reported the Chinese evening daily.

The incurable neurodegenerative disease of the motor neurons leads to progressive weakness of the muscles that control movements of the body including swallowing, speech and breathing.

The diagnosis was an unexpected blow to Tan, Huang said, adding that her husband always paid attention to his health and ate a balanced diet.

While Tan's condition improved initially through medication, he was coughing and lost his appetite five days before his death.

Huang told Shin Min that she'd persuaded Tan to go to the hospital for a check-up, but his heart failed on the way there.

Doctors performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on Tan and manage to revive him, but his blood pressure remained very low and he later died, Shin Min reported.

Huang shared her hope that other patients who are stricken with ALS will remain optimistic and bravely face the disease head on.

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