It’s business as usual at WE Cinemas in Singapore on Sep 9, but its corporate office will be closed to mark the death of founder and executive chairman Goh Eng Wah.
Goh ‘passed away peacefully’ on Sep 5 at age 92, according to a press release from Eng Wah Global, the holding company of WE Cinemas (called Eng Wah Cinemas until 2011) which also owns Hotel Fort Canning, Jubilee Square mall and The Legends Fort Canning club.
The current generation of Singaporeans grew up watching movies at Eng Wah and two other cinemas — Shaw and Cathay which were both around since pre-World War II Singapore, unlike Eng Wah which started in 1945 — but it was Goh who brought movies from the downtown area to the heartland, starting in 1972 when it opened Toa Payoh Theatre in an HDB estate, according to Singapore Infopedia.
“His cinemas were popular for screening the latest Chinese blockbusters. He was among the first movie-distributors to bring Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars to Singapore to promote their movies,” it said. Eng Wah Cinemas only started screening English movies in 1988.
Apart from distributing films, Goh was also active in producing them.
“He also ventured into film production in Hong Kong and financed several films, such as Teddy Girls, Call Girls and Hiroshima 28, which were shown in Singapore. Some of these films won awards in the Asian Film Festivals,” according to the report.
From outlets located all over the island state, WE Cinemas now has one remaining cineplex, at 321 Clementi Mall, where the old Empress Entertainment Complex once stood. It has 10 halls with a total seating capacity of 746 seats.
Goh leaves behind his wife, four children, a son-in-law and five grandsons.
Photo: WE Cinemas Facebook page
