Twelve Cupcakes' former owner Daniel Ong says he's still scolded by strangers after sudden closure
Eddino Abdul Hadi
The Straits Times
Nov 12, 2025
Twelve Cupcakes' former co-owner Daniel Ong has not been involved with the confectionery chain since selling the business in 2016.
But nearly 10 years on, the Singaporean personality says he is still scolded by strangers after the beleaguered company's sudden closure in late October.
Twelve Cupcakes retrenched about 80 staff after it was placed under provisional liquidation, and the Ministry of Manpower is investigating the business for non-payment of salaries and other potential breaches.
Ong, who turns 50 in December, tells The Straits Times in a Zoom interview: "I really hope to set the record straight that I haven't been involved in any way since the sale of the business. It was really unfortunate how everything unfolded, and my heart goes out to everybody affected."
Twelve Cupcakes was founded in 2011 by Ong and his then wife, local entertainment artiste Jaime Teo, before it was sold to Indian tea company The Dhunseri Group in 2016.
In 2021, the former couple were each fined $65,000 for failing to prevent Twelve Cupcakes from underpaying its foreign employees when they were running it.
Ong, who first came to fame as a radio DJ in the late 1990s, says he had no inkling about any plans to shutter the brand for good.
"I don't have any contact with staff, management or the owners as well. So I was pretty shocked, just like everybody else, about the news.
"I get a lot of messages on social media saying, how could I do such a thing? And just to set the record straight, I haven't been involved in the business for almost a decade now. So yeah, I hope the abuse can stop."
He is prepared to still receive nasty comments even though Twelve Cupcakes is gone for good. "I think there will always be people who don't have all the information, but all we can do is move on and live our best lives."
Ong has been involved in several food and beverage businesses since moving on from Twelve Cupcakes, including the now-closed Rookery diner and bar chain, seafood restaurant Estuary and craft beer line Brewlander.
But the only one he has an active hand in right now is steak restaurant Dan's Steaks as its founder and director. He is no longer helming the chef role or involved in day-to-day operations, and describes the place as running "on autopilot".
Instead, for the past year, Ong has been a full-time personal wellness coach alongside his wife Fay Tan, 40.
He describes their wellness business as helping people improve their health in areas like diabetes, high cholesterol and weight management through a holistic, nutritional approach.
Ong was inspired to explore this career path after going through a similar programme and seeing his weight go down from 85.5 kg to 73.3 kg. It's a job that he finds "really meaningful" because "every single day we're helping somebody get better in life".
He adds: "It's my favourite job so far because I haven't found a job with so much satisfaction in my life."
Being a wellness coach also gives him flexibility to spend time with his four children.
His daughter Renee, 15, is from his previous marriage to Teo, while Gretel, 10, is Tan's daughter from a previous marriage. Ong and Tan have two boys together, Andre, four, and Alexander, two.
Renee stays with Ong from Sundays to Wednesdays and with Teo for the rest of the week. Gretel lives with Ong and Tan but visits her biological father every Friday and Saturday.
Ong says: "We have a really good hybrid co-parenting situation that we're really happy with. Everybody wants the best for the children, so we're all on the same team. So there's no bad-mouthing, there's no putting down of the other parent. It is only very logistical, and everything is done in a way that is best for the child."
He adds of Teo, 48, whom he split from in 2016 after nine years of marriage: "It's just a blessing to have an ex who understands and also plays an equal part in making sure that our child grows up grounded, loved and in full understanding of the situation."
Ong, who was last on air as a DJ on One 91.3 in 2011, says that he listens to all the local radio stations regularly.
"I was on radio for 17, 18 years, and I was hosting live shows, National Day Parades, gigs, concerts, doing all kinds of crazy things that will forever be a part of me.
"Till today, I still host some private events, some weddings. It will be a part of my life that I will never forget. I'm beyond thankful for that opportunity back then, and it is something that I'll always love."
