Veteran TVB Star Benz Hui Now Lives in Yishun & Thinks S’pore is a Good Place to Retire

Remember this guy?

Because I most certainly do.

Granted, I might not remember him with the same familiarity I do with other established stars like Stephen Chow, Andy Lau or Chow Yun Fatt, but he’s definitely on my list of must-watch actors.

And for good reason too, seeing how he has appeared in multiple Hong Kong TV dramas and movies over the years, and in the process become one of the more recognisable faces of the Hong Kong film industry.

But unbeknownst to most of us, Benz Hui is soon going to become even more recognisable.

Very recognisable, actually.

Yishunite

Now, if you’ve been living in Singapore for at least ten years, you would know that the lion city is pretty much perfect except for one Bermuda-triangle like area:

Yishun.

Indeed, the forbidden territory, as we like to call it, has seen its fair share of Bermuda-triangle worthy incidents. The cow at the void deck was one. Halimah Yacob choosing to stay in her Yishun residence instead of the Istana was another. But perhaps the most disturbing of all… was the mass cat murders that occurred all the way back in 2015. The Yishun Cat Killer, they called him. Feared, the cat lovers did.

And indeed, you can’t help but wonder why Benz Hui, the actor who starred in the first section of this article, would choose to live in Yishun out of all places.

How mystifying.

No kidding

On 21 Oct, Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah shared a group photo in a Facebook post. And while MP-posted photos do not normally make the news, this one was a bit different, because…

Benz Hui was in it.

“Guess which Hong Kong TVB star will be our resident soon??” her caption read, a surefire way of pronouncing the established star as Yishun’s next top victim – I mean model. Or actor.

Apparently, Lee was near Hui’s home when they encountered. The area’s believed to be a private housing estate in Lee’s constituency.

But then again, Yishun aside, Benz Hui’s decision to move here might have been in the works for a long, long time.

Retiring with the Merlion

In an interview last year (2017) with Shin Min Daily News, it was revealed that Hui had actually chanced upon his current wife in Singapore while working here in the 1980s.

Thereafter, the couple’s daughter was born in Singapore, before the family relocated to Hong Kong. Shin Min, however, mentioned that Hui has homes in both places.

And according to the newspaper, Hui has been visiting Singapore, and is believed to have considered the country a good place to retire in.

Celebrity sightings

In 2016, some Singaporeans actually sighted Hui hanging out here. In fact, one local even snapped a photo with him in the Uniqlo outlet at Ion Orchard.

Talk about lucky.

(Though honestly, he might look just like an angry science teacher to the younger readers)

Reactions

In response to MP Lee Bee Wah’s posted group photo, Netizens were largely welcoming.

Although one seemed to have reellifephobia.

The “Benz” in His Name Literally Refers to the Benz in “Mercedes-Benz”

Here’s a fun fact that would make you either cringe to switch to the German car-maker: back then, he was the first ATV (his previous company) actor to drive a Mercedes-Benz to work, and therefore was inspired to use “Benz” as his name.

Interesting much.

Though I bet my boss’s car that prior to this news, you didn’t know his name. You only know his face.