Hawker goes viral with video of him driving Rolls-Royce linked to $3b money-laundering probe

Hawker Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani borrowed his friend’s Rolls-Royce Phantom to shoot a video to promote his aunt’s hawker stall.

PHOTOS: SCREENGRAB FROM APEK STEWARD/TIKTOK

Published Oct 06, 2026, 07:35 AM

Updated Oct 06, 2026, 02:52 PM

Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani’s TikTok video driving a Rolls-Royce at Upper Boon Keng Food Centre went viral, boosting sales of his aunt’s newly revamped claypot assam pedas stall.

The luxury car in the video is linked to a $3 billion money-laundering probe, but Ezam used it as a marketing stunt, borrowing it from a friend who owns it.

Ezam aims to open a cafe and plans to expand his F&B business with multiple outlets in Singapore.

SINGAPORE – A video of hawker Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani arriving at Upper Boon Keng Market & Food Centre in a Rolls-Royce Phantom has racked up 505,300 views and 10,600 “likes” since he posted it on his TikTok account @apek.steward1 on Sept 15.

In it , the 52-year-old is seen driving the luxury car in the carpark.

After he stops and opens the car door, a female host – who appears to be a vlogger – approaches and asks him what he does for a living.

Ezam replies that he owns an F&B business selling claypot dishes with three outlets in Johor Bahru, and that the stall at Upper Boon Keng food centre is his first Singapore outlet.

The video has so far attracted more than 400 comments.

Some netizens expressed admiration and respect for a hawker owning a Rolls-Royce, while others chastised him for parking in an accessible parking space.

The video, which shows the car’s registration plate, also sparked discussion on Reddit, where one user queried whether the car was among those seized in a $3 billion money-laundering probe and later put up for auction.

The Straits Times reported on July 28 that 47 luxury cars, including at least 11 Rolls-Royces, were put up for closed bidding by Sgcarmart Quotz.

The cars were linked to foreigners investigated in Singapore’s largest money-laundering case.

When asked by ST, Ezam clarified that he was not the car’s owner and said the video was a marketing stunt to promote his aunt’s revamped Muslim-owned stall selling claypot assam pedas.

“I was really surprised that people believed I actually own the Rolls-Royce,” he says. “It was supposed to be a joke and I didn’t expect people to take it seriously.”

The idea came about when two of his long-time friends – a car dealer and the owner of the Rolls-Royce – had lunch at his aunt’s stall, and suggested making a video to promote it.

Ezam proposed using the Rolls-Royce and the owner agreed to lend it to him.

The car, he confirms, was indeed among those linked to the money-laundering probe, which the owner had successfully bid for in July.

The car owner runs a marine fuel trading company. Ezam previously worked there as an operations co-ordinator for six months before quitting in July to return to F&B.

Ezam’s aunt, who has run the Upper Boon Keng stall since 2004, first sold nasi padang before switching to nasi ayam. She later hired a cook to sell Western food, but the stall shuttered after two months and was left vacant for nine months.

She asked Ezam to help her in July after learning that he had successfully partnered a Malaysian friend to start Markaz Cafe & Bistro, an open-air foodcourt in Kampung Seri Purnama in Johor Bahru, a 10-minute drive from Woodlands Checkpoint.

He also opened a cafe called Seven Coffee Seven Claypot next to the foodcourt. Both opened in July.

Ezam, whose parents used to sell nasi padang in Tampines, is no stranger to F&B.

The Secondary 4 dropout used to work as a hawker assistant at a claypot fish-head stall and a commis cook at The American Club. He later worked as an assistant cook at Plaza Parkroyal Hotel from 2004 for 15 months.

Over the years, he has also worked as a club bouncer and Lalamove driver.

In August, he renamed his aunt’s stall Seven Claypot, after a defunct entertainment spot called Club 7 that he used to run with several friends at Concorde Hotel.

He says the video shoot was spontaneously put together on Sept 6. His car-dealer friend roped in his daughter’s friend as the host, drove the Rolls-Royce to Upper Boon Keng and filmed the video on an iPhone. The shoot took under 15 minutes.

Ezam says he parked the Rolls-Royce briefly in the accessible lot because the carpark was full and it was difficult to reverse such a large vehicle into a standard lot. His friend moved it to another carpark as soon as he alighted.

The marketing stunt has paid off. About a week after Seven Claypot opened on Aug 15, his takings were around $600 a day. After the video went viral from Sept 15, daily sales surged past $1,200.

By the end of September, he had recouped the $35,000 savings he had sunk into revamping the stall. He had anticipated it would take at least nine months to break even.

The marketing stunt paid off for Ezam as customers came from afar to sample his food, with daily sales doubling from $600 to $1,200. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

The marketing stunt paid off for Ezam as customers came from afar to sample his food, with daily sales doubling from $600 to $1,200.

Before the video, his customers were mostly residents in the Boon Keng area. After it gained traction, customers came from as far as Woodlands, Jurong and Choa Chu Kang to try his claypot assam pedas, which starts at $8 for a slice of stingray or red snapper tail.

The recipe for Ezam’s claypot assam pedas, which starts at $8 for a slice of stingray or red snapper tail, comes from his mother. ST PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

The recipe for Ezam’s claypot assam pedas, which starts at $8 for a slice of stingray or red snapper tail, comes from his mother.

Many curious customers asked to take photographs with “his” Rolls-Royce, which his friend subsequently lent him another three times.

He is unperturbed by the negative comments the video has elicited and laughs at suggestions that he is a money launderer. He says his relatives rang his mother to ask how he could afford such a car .

Ezam, who is single and lives with his parents in a four-room HDB flat in Bedok Reservoir, says they chided him over the stunt but later had a good laugh about it.

He says the recipe for the assam pedas is from his mother, who helps out at the stall in the morning, along with his aunt, who assists in the afternoon.

Ezam does most of the cooking, along with a friend who works part-time.

He hopes to hire a full-time cook and rent a nearby shop to open a cafe called Seven Coffee. His goal is to have five outlets in Singapore within two years.

Every morning, he drives to Geylang Serai Market to buy fresh fish in a leased Audi A3 that costs $2,000 a month. He says he is saving up to buy a second-hand Mercedes-Benz CLS.

While he enjoys driving his friend’s Rolls-Royce on occasion, he laments that parking it is a headache. His own dream cars are an Audi RS5 or BMW M3, preferably brand new.

Despite having little interest in social media, Ezam now has ideas for a sequel following the response to his video. He is planning another post featuring the same Rolls-Royce, as well as other supercars belonging to his friends.

But he is not about to turn influencer any time soon. He says, grinning: “The whole point of doing videos is to get people to come try our assam pedas.”

Where: 01-02 Upper Boon Keng Food Centre, Block 17 Upper Boon Keng Road Open: 11am to 10pm, Tuesdays to Sundays

Hedy Khoo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers food-related news, from reviews to human interest stories.

小贩穆罕默德·埃扎姆·阿卜杜勒·加尼借用朋友的劳斯莱斯幻影拍摄视频，为他姑姑的小贩摊位做宣传。

图片：截图来自 APEK STEWARD/TIKTOK

发布于 2026 年 10 月 6 日上午 7:35

更新于2026年10月6日下午2:52

穆罕默德·埃扎姆·阿卜杜勒·加尼驾驶劳斯莱斯在文庆上路美食中心拍摄的TikTok视频迅速走红，带动了他姑姑新装修的砂锅阿萨姆辣酱摊位的销量。

视频中的豪车与一起 30 亿美元的洗钱调查有关，但埃扎姆将其用作营销噱头，是从一位拥有这辆车的朋友那里借来的。

Ezam 计划开设一家咖啡馆，并计划在新加坡开设多家分店，拓展他的餐饮业务。

新加坡——小贩 Muhammad Ezam Abdul Gani 于 9 月 15 日将一段他乘坐劳斯莱斯幻影抵达上文庆市场与熟食中心的视频发布到他的 TikTok 账号 @apek.steward1 后，该视频已获得 505,300 次观看和 10,600 个“赞”。

视频中，可以看到这位 52 岁的男子驾驶着这辆豪车停在停车场。

他停下车，打开车门后，一位看起来像是视频博主的女主持人走过来问他靠什么谋生。

Ezam 回答说，他在柔佛新山拥有三家分店，经营砂锅菜，而位于上文庆美食中心的摊位是他在新加坡的第一家分店。

这段视频目前已吸引了超过400条评论。

一些网友对拥有劳斯莱斯的摊贩表示钦佩和尊重，而另一些网友则谴责他将车停在了无障碍停车位上。

这段视频显示了汽车的车牌号，也引发了Reddit上的讨论，一位用户质疑这辆车是否是30亿美元洗钱调查中查获并随后被拍卖的车辆之一。

《海峡时报》7月28日报道，Sgcarmart Quotz 将 47 辆豪华汽车（包括至少 11 辆劳斯莱斯）进行封闭式竞标。

这些车辆与新加坡最大洗钱案中接受调查的外国人有关。

当《海峡时报》询问时，伊扎姆澄清说他不是车主，并表示该视频是一次营销噱头，旨在宣传他姑姑重新装修的穆斯林摊位，该摊位出售陶罐阿萨姆甜饼。

“我真没想到人们会相信我真的拥有那辆劳斯莱斯，”他说。“这本来只是个玩笑，我没想到人们会当真。”

这个想法源于他的两位老朋友——一位汽车经销商和一位劳斯莱斯车主——在他姑姑的摊位上吃午饭时，建议制作一个视频来宣传这辆车。

埃扎姆提议使用劳斯莱斯，车主同意借给他。

他证实，这辆车确实是与洗钱调查有关的车辆之一，车主在 7 月份成功竞标购得了这辆车。

车主经营一家船用燃料贸易公司。埃扎姆此前在该公司担任运营协调员六个月，于七月份辞职重返餐饮业。

伊扎姆的姑姑自 2004 年起就在上文庆街经营摊位，最初卖的是巴东饭，后来改卖鸡饭。之后她雇了一位厨师来卖西餐，但摊位两个月后就关门了，空置了九个月。

7 月，她得知 Ezam 已成功与一位马来西亚朋友合作，在柔佛州新山 Kampung Seri Purnama 开设了 Markaz Cafe & Bistro（一家露天美食广场），距离兀兰关卡仅 10 分钟车程，于是请求 Ezam 帮助她。

他还开了一家名为“七咖啡七砂锅”的咖啡馆，就在美食广场旁边。两家店都是在七月份开业的。

Ezam的父母以前在淡滨尼卖过椰浆饭，他对餐饮业并不陌生。

这名中学四年级辍学生曾做过砂锅鱼头摊的帮厨和美国俱乐部的初级厨师。后来，他从2004年开始在柏悦酒店担任助理厨师，为期15个月。

多年来，他还做过夜总会保安和 Lalamove 送货司机。

8 月，他将姑姑的摊位改名为“七砂锅”，取自他以前和几个朋友在协和酒店经营的一家名为“七号俱乐部”的已倒闭的娱乐场所。

他说，这段视频是9月6日临时起意拍摄的。他的汽车经销商朋友拉上他女儿的朋友担任主持人，开着劳斯莱斯来到上文庆街，用iPhone拍摄了视频。整个拍摄过程不到15分钟。

埃扎姆说，他把劳斯莱斯短暂地停在了无障碍停车位，因为普通停车场已经满了，而且这么大的车很难倒进普通车位。他的朋友下车后就把车挪到了另一个停车场。

这次营销噱头奏效了。8月15日“七砂锅”开业大约一周后，店主每天的营业额约为600美元。9月15日视频走红后，日销售额飙升至1200美元以上。

到九月底，他已经收回了之前投入摊位翻新的3.5万美元积蓄。他原本预计至少需要九个月才能收回成本。

埃扎姆的营销策略取得了成功，顾客从远方慕名而来品尝他的美食，日销售额也从600美元翻了一番，达到1200美元。（海峡时报照片：HEDY KHOO）

埃扎姆的营销噱头取得了成功，顾客从远方前来品尝他的食物，日销售额翻了一番，从 600 美元增至 1200 美元。

在视频走红之前，他的顾客大多是文庆地区的居民。视频走红后，顾客甚至从兀兰、裕廊和蔡厝港等地赶来品尝他的砂锅亚参辣鱼，每片售价8新元起，包括魟鱼或红鲷鱼尾。

埃扎姆的砂锅亚参辣酱（每片售价8美元起，可选用鳐鱼尾或红鲷鱼尾）的配方来自他的母亲。照片由海蒂·库拍摄

Ezam 的砂锅阿萨姆辣酱的配方来自他的母亲，一份售价 8 美元起，包含一片魟鱼或红鲷鱼尾。

许多好奇的顾客要求与“他的”劳斯莱斯合影，他的朋友随后又三次将这辆车借给了他。

他并不在意这段视频引发的负面评论，反而对有关他是洗钱者的说法一笑置之。他说，他的亲戚打电话问他母亲，他怎么买得起这样的车。

单身的伊扎姆和父母住在勿洛蓄水池的一套四房式组屋里。他说，父母虽然责备了他的这个举动，但后来都哈哈大笑起来。

他说，阿萨姆辣椒的配方来自他的母亲，她早上会在摊位帮忙，他的姑姑下午也会来帮忙。

大部分烹饪工作都由埃扎姆负责，还有一位兼职的朋友也会帮忙。

他希望聘请一名全职厨师，并在附近租一间店面，开设一家名为“七咖啡”的咖啡馆。他的目标是在两年内在新加坡开设五家分店。

每天早上，他都会开着租来的奥迪A3去芽笼士乃市场买新鲜鱼，这辆车每月租金2000美元。他说他正在攒钱买一辆二手奔驰CLS。

他偶尔会开朋友的劳斯莱斯兜风，但抱怨停车太麻烦。他梦想中的车是奥迪RS5或宝马M3，最好是全新的。

尽管对社交媒体兴趣不大，但埃扎姆在视频反响热烈后，已经有了拍摄续集的想法。他计划发布另一条视频，展示同一辆劳斯莱斯，以及他朋友们的其他超级跑车。

但他近期并没有成为网红的打算。他笑着说：“我们拍视频的目的就是为了让大家来尝尝我们的阿萨姆甜饼。”

地点：文庆路上段第17座，文庆路上段美食中心01-02室 营业时间：周二至周日，上午11点至晚上10点

Hedy Khoo是《海峡时报》的资深记者。她报道与食品相关的新闻，包括食品评论和人物故事。