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ALL his life, Mr WC Leong had toiled day and night to feed his family.

Making just over $1,000 a month until he retired more than 10 years ago, he never dreamt of striking it rich.

Then suddenly, at the ripe old age of 70, the retired hawker has become a millionaire.

Lucked out: Mr WC Leong infront of hid block at Far East Mansion. He calls his apartment 'fa cai wu', or house that brings him fortune in Mandarin.--Picture: Jonathan Choo

No, he did not strike Toto. But he hit an equally huge jackpot - a $2.34 million one, to be exact.

Thanks to the en bloc sale of Far East Mansion at Kim Yam Road, Mr Leong will pocket over $2m in cash next year. He owns two apartments in the private estate.

Mr Leong is now one happy - and very rich - old man.

He told The New Paper on Sunday in a mix of Cantonese and Mandarin: 'I've worked so hard all my life and never come close to seeing so much money.'

He added jokingly: 'There aren't many 70-year-old millionaires out there.

'I probably have only a few more years to 'enjoy' this windfall and then I'll have to say 'bye bye' already.'

In May, Frasers Centrepoint offered $256m for the freehold estate that is over 40 years old.

Owners of the 218 units will get about $1.17m each.

It took almost a decade before a developer finally bought over the old estate. (See report above.)

HOUSE OF FORTUNE

Mr Leong calls his home the 'fa cai wu' (house of fortune in Mandarin).

'Maybe because it was built facing a famous Chinese temple, I've been blessed with good fortune - two good sons and four grandchildren - since I moved in,' he said.

Mr Leong bought his first three-bedroom unit in Far East for under $20,000 in 1964. His cousin had objected to the purchase.

'He was an architect and felt the project would lose money. He told me the Government would build many such apartments in the future and advised me to buy landed property instead,' he recalled.

'He told me: 'If you buy this apartment, you will one day have to kneel down to offer it to someone else.'

'But I went ahead because it was what I could afford. I did not have enough money to buy landed property.'

Mr Leong got married in the same year.

His son was born a year later.

'Before I got married, I had to support my parents and siblings. After marriage, I had more mouths to feed,' he recalled.

'It wasn't easy to make ends meet. I also struggled with my father's medical bills. Fortunately, I don't gamble, smoke or drink, and lead a frugal life.'

Some 12 years later, Mr Leong managed to save enough to buy a second three-bedroom apartment in the same estate, for $70,000.

'My business prospered after I bought the first unit,' he said.

He rented out the second apartment to a foreigner for $300 to $400 a month, which later went up to $1,100 a month.

When his younger brother got married, he and his wife moved into the second apartment, where they are still living today.

So what is Mr Leong going to do with his new-found wealth?

'I'd probably give some to my brother to buy a HDB flat,' he said.

'For myself, I'll buy a four- or five-room HDB flat near to one of my sons', and live there with my wife.

'I'll also give some money to my family and keep the rest for old age. It's important to have some money with us in old age.'

Mr Leong said his health has been deteriorating and that he had one of his kidneys removed five years ago.

But his windfall will not change his frugal lifestyle.

He says he still eats at hawker centres and takes the bus and MRT.

He hardly goes for overseas holidays except when his sons take him.

He does not splurge on expensive things and has not bought new furniture or renovated his house since he moved in.

He said: 'Although I am happy to get this big sum of money, I don't think it will change my lifestyle very much.

'Even when I don't have this money, I'm already leading a happy life by being able to spend time with my adorable grandchildren every day.'

LIVES ALONE

He now lives alone. His sons, aged 36 and 41, are married with children and live on their own.

His wife lives with one of their sons to look after their grandchildren.

Every day, Mr Leong goes to his son's flat in Yishun to spend time with the kids.

He said: 'I didn't want to move in with my sons as I didn't want to move the tablets of my ancestors which have been in this apartment from day one.'

What's the first thing he plans to do when he gets his millions?

'Go to the temple opposite to make offerings and donate some money to charity,' he said.

OVER the years, Far East Mansion has had many offers of collective sale before the deal with Frasers Centrepoint was sealed in May.

The first offer came in 1997, residents said.

Each unit could have fetched $1.6 million then, Mr WC Leong said. But owners in only 200 out of the 218 units signed on the dotted line.

'Some of the owners who refused to sign owned more than one unit,' Mr Leong said.

So the deal fell through.

Mr Leong recalled: 'I remember bumping into one owner who refused to sell. He was very arrogant. He said, 'You people are so greedy. So little money and you want to sell.''.

A 62-year-old resident, who gave her name only as Madam Loh, added: 'When I first heard of the offer, I was so excited. At that time, I had just sent my son to pursue his degree in Australia. I told him that if the sale went through, he could study till he gets his doctorate.

'I was so hopeful then. How many people like us who receive little education can become a millionaire?'

Two years later, there was another offer. That time, the payout was $1.25m for each unit. Again, the same group of owners refused to budge.

Mr Leong said: 'They said, 'I didn't sell for $1.6m. Why would I settle for less now? I'll consider if the offer reaches $2m.''

After the second unsuccessful attempt at an en bloc sale, property prices went downhill.

RUNDOWN APARTMENTS

'Until a year or two ago, residents here were selling their apartments for only $500,000 or less,' said Mr Leong. 'Even so, it was difficult to sell because our apartments are so rundown.

'If we don't sell now, each household will have to fork out $30,000 to $40,000 for upgrading.

'Many of us are retirees. We can't possibly ask our children for money to upgrade these old apartments, right?'

Before Frasers Centrepoint came along, there was another offer of only $950,000 per unit.

Mr Leong said he had suggested to the management team that they look for other developers who could offer a higher price.

Then came the good news at the end of May this year.

Frasers Centrepoint's offer at $1.17m per unit was about 24 per cent more than what the management had asked for.

Mr Leong said: 'We urged everyone to sign this time round. We told them that if we miss this opportunity, we may not get another good offer in future.

'Many of us are already so old. Although we are sentimental about this place and can't bear to move, how long more can we live to enjoy this life? Times are different now. We should just take the money and go.'

Mr Ng Hoo Ching, 73, who paid $32,500 for his three-bedroom apartment in 1965, agreed: 'This place was very prestigious in the '60s. Now it is so run-down. I am happy with the sale.'

It will take about a year to complete the en bloc sale.