“I misunderstood Ryan’s meaning of being broke. So yep, I helped! Now I realised he’s doing way better than me still,” said Khoo Keat Hwee.
He donated S$1,000 to help former co-founder of Night Owl Cinematics Ryan Tan when he said he was “officially broke.”
Mr Khoo, the founder of Mentai-Ya Japanese Cuisine, came across Mr Tan’s Instagram stories on June 24, highlighting he had lost more than 90 per cent of his money.
“I lost 90 per cent of what I used to have, and each month I have to pay rental, salary, loans, bills and legal,” he said, adding that he was in an industry where clients don’t necessarily pay on time.
Mr Tan also shared screenshots of people helping him with donations, such as Mr Khoo, who posted a video on his TikTok account.
Mr Khoo admitted he didn’t know much about Mr Tan although he wanted to help. “Bro, lets jiayou and pick up from where we all fell. Let’s learn and grow from our pain and mistakes,” he wrote in the caption.
Netizens soon commented on his video, pointing out that Mr Tan was still living a “lavish lifestyle.”
“I have been supporting your store and end up you donate your hard earn money to him? Pls la. If he broke, (how can he) travel overseas?” asked another netizen.
“Please help the real broke ones. Your 1k can help many poor families instead of an influencer living in private housing,” wrote another netizen.
On June 30, Mr Khoo uploaded another TikTok video of a compilation of netizens’ comments and his comment on top.
He explained that his bank was empty “with a huge debt that would take more than 10 years to pay….yes, that is broke.”
“So seeing his (Mr Tan’s) story, I helped. Without knowing that he’s living in a private property and having a fully paid Range Rover that I can’t afford (laughing emoji).” He added, “The joke is on me.”
Mr Khoo also asked for any leads from the public regarding organisations he should donate to as “he always enjoyed helping.”
According to AsiaOne, he has already donated S$1,000 to Singapore Association for Mental Health and another S$1,000 to social activist Gilbert Goh.
It was reported that Mr Tan had returned the S$1,000 from Mr Khoo./TISG
@kayakak I still root for him & wish him the best. Sure he will come back greater than ever. 👍 jiayou all and ill donate 3 more 1k then ✌️
♬ The Joke Is On You (It’s an all night party that we’re getting into) – iCarly – Hiko
Grow a backbone: Public on ex-NOC Ryan Tan being ‘officially broke’