SINGAPORE – Mr Looi San Cheng, founder of well-known local brand Tip Top Curry Puff, has died at the age of 80.

According to Shin Min Daily News, he suffered a heart attack at home on Oct 28.

His daughter Liang Huiping, 48, said at his wake on Oct 30 that he suffered from the “three highs” of chronic conditions – high blood sugar, high blood pressure and high cholesterol – and had been taking long-term medication for high blood pressure.

“He didn’t like to trouble other people, so he didn’t tell us he was unwell,” she told Shin Min. “His death was very sudden for us.”

Ms Liang said that her father, who was the third among eight siblings, lived with his family in Tanjung Balai on Indonesia’s Karimun Island when he was younger before moving to Singapore.

She added that her father worked as an electrician and a contractor before moving into the food and beverage industry.

“Maybe this was influenced by my grandfather, as we are Hainanese and my grandfather used to run a coffee shop,” she said. “My father liked to eat and was very good at cooking Western food.”

Mr Looi started selling curry puffs at his Marine Parade bakery in 1976. They were so popular, he opened his Ang Mo Kio stall at Block 722 three years later.

“Curry puffs were not common at that time, with customers mistaking doughnuts for curry puffs,” he told Shin Min in 2006. “I felt this business should be viable, so I started selling curry puffs.”

According to a report in The Straits Times in 2004, what makes his curry puffs’ filling tasty is a special Indonesian curry powder, fresh Dutch potatoes and a recipe of 18 herbs and spices.

Tip Top was cited by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech in 2006 as a small local company making inroads overseas, with outlets in Harbin and Shenyang in China then.

Ms Liang told Shin Min that the brand became a joint venture in 2011, and several branches were opened in Singapore. Current outlets are located in Changi Airport Terminal 1, One Raffles Place, Bugis Junction, Compass One, Tampines Century Square and E!Hub@Downtown East.

Mr Looi’s wake is held at the Singapore Funeral Parlour in Tampines and the funeral will take place on Nov 2.