Sim Lim Tower ice cream cart hawker 'Uncle Boon' dies at age 92
Ng Teak Boon was one of the last few original licensed itinerant hawkers in Singapore, and had been plying his trade selling old-school ice cream blocks in the area for over 50 years.
Known affectionately as Uncle Boon, the late Ng was a well-known sight outside Sim Lim Tower. (Photo: Larry Lai)
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One of Singapore’s last licensed itinerant hawkers, Ng Teak Boon, has died at the age of 92. He was cremated on Saturday (Jun 22) without a wake. Known affectionately as Uncle Boon, Ng was a well-known sight outside Sim Lim Tower, where he had been selling old-school ice cream blocks from a mobile pushcart for over 50 years.
The news of Ng's passing was first announced by hawker Melvin Chew on the Facebook group Hawkers United - Dabao 2020.
Earlier this year, Ng told 8days.sg that due to age, he had been unable to sell his wafer and bread-wrapped ice cream blocks as he no longer had the strength to split the frozen blocks. Instead, he offered pre-packaged ice cream from a supplier.
As ice cream pushcarts became a dying trade, Ng’s sales gradually dwindled over the years. He earned a few hundred dollars a month selling ice cream, and lived alone in a one-room rental flat in Geylang Bahru.
When his income took a huge hit during the Circuit Breaker when everyone stayed home, netizens rallied to help him sell more ice cream and spruce up his rental flat, which was sparsely furnished.
One Mr Chetan, a business owner working in Sim Lim Tower, told 8days.sg that he had been patronising Ng’s ice cream cart since 2007. He shared: “I would always buy the ice cream from Uncle. He was always earlier than me to start [his day for business]. Very nice uncle, very humble.”
This story was originally published in 8Days.
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