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Mother of Singapore supermarket chain Sheng Siong’s billionaire founders dies at 91
Samira Vishwas | September 7, 2026 12:24 PM CST

Known affectionately as “Sheng Siong Ah Ma,” Ng died on Saturday morning after suffering from asthma and kidney failure, according to MS News.

Her second son, Lim Hock Chee, who co-founded the supermarket chain with his two brothers, told local media at her wake on Sunday that she had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit last month.

Lim said her condition initially improved, but she later suffered sudden internal bleeding. She returned home last Thursday as her condition deteriorated rapidly, with doctors telling the family that the situation was not optimistic.

Residents in Ng’s neighborhood fondly remembered her for her friendly and approachable personality.

She remained a familiar presence in the area even after Sheng Siong rose to prominence, regularly walking around the neighborhood and chatting with residents.

A Sheng Siong outlet in Singapore. Photo from Google Maps

Ng was the victim of a high-profile kidnapping-for-ransom case that captured widespread public attention in 2014, Channel News Asia reported.

The kidnapper, Lee Sze Yong, had spent two years planning the abduction after picking out Lim from several potential targets on Forbes magazine’s Singapore rich list.

Lee then tricked Ng into a car and drove her around while demanding from Lim S$20 million (US$15.8 million) in ransom, which was later reduced to S$2 million.

Police arrested Lee and his partner before they could collect the money. Lee was sentenced to life imprisonment and three strokes of the cane while his partner received a three-year jail term.

The case was Singapore’s first kidnapping-for-ransom incident in more than a decade and was believed to involve the highest ransom amount in a kidnapping case in the city-state at the time.

Lim and his family were estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of US$500 million at the time, which has since grown to US$2.7 billion this year.

At the wake, Lim also spoke about the case, recalling how nerve-racking it was to receive the kidnapper’s call, Mothership reported.

He said family members subsequently refrained from discussing the incident in front of his mother, who continued to go about her daily life as usual.

Lim and his brothers donated the ransom to the National Crime Prevention Council. He added that the bereavement money would also be donated to charity.


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