A year ago, Mr Kenneth Wong put up one of his vintage bicycles for sale on the Internet.
It is a Hercules Roadster made by British-based Raleigh Bicycles company and its parts have been preserved in mint condition since 1967.
“Only offers above $1,800 will be considered,” his advertisement then stated.
But the bicycle remained unsold.
Yesterday morning, Mr Wong, 42, began putting up new advertisements on forums and on Facebook saying that the bicycle is now up for auction.
He will be selling the bicycle to the highest bidder and is accepting a minimum bid of $1,500. This time, however, he will be donating the proceeds to the family of deceased taxi driver Cheng Teck Hock, the sole breadwinner of a family of three.
The 52-year-old died on Sunday after a Ferrari crashed into his vehicle the day before.
‘I was moved’
Said Mr Wong: “When I read about his incident and how he died, I was moved.
“To me, he is an everyday Singaporean hero, doing his best to provide for his family.
“Who would have known that a car would come out of nowhere and destroy his life?”
He added: “I instinctively felt that I just had to do something for his family.”
Mr Wong, who works as a lecturer of business-related subjects, has been collecting vintage British bicycles since 2009.
Having spent his childhood in the 1970s, he has always felt a connection with the bicycles from that period.
After snooping around old bicycle shops and consulting fellow collectors, MrWong chanced upon the 1967 Hercules Roadster about two years ago.
He waxes and polishes the bicycle every few months and he has attached to it a Wright Olympic saddle from the early 1970s, a Taiwanese bell, and pumps and pegs imported from Britain.
He also personally fashioned a tag for the bike with the Hercules label reprinted on manila envelopes.
As a result of his upkeep, the bicycle looks barely a day old.
To Mr Wong, it is “a piece of history, built a few years after our independence”.
He also said that what matters is not about the bicycle or selling it; rather, it is about “stepping forward to make things right”.
Mr Wong has an offer of $1,500 for the bicycle and is waiting for more offers to come in.
“I hope to raise as much as I can, as it’s for a good cause,” he said.
Mr Cheng’s elder son, Dao Han, 19, told The New Paper yesterday afternoon that the family is very thankful to the kindness shown to them from strangers so far.
This article was first published in The New Paper.