He was an incorrigible gangster who was not afraid of rumbling with rival triads, and thought nothing of robbing a woman at knife-point when he was only 17.
But when he was spurned by a potential employer because he had spent a year in prison for stealing, Mr Jabez Tan found he was not too hardened for tears.
Mr Tan, who was then 20, had interviewed for a job in a car dealership. The interviewer recoiled when he heard he was a former offender. "It's the classic response. They'll say go home and wait to hear back from them, but I never did. It really hurt me."
A flurry of similar rejections followed when he tried to find sales jobs in between the 13 years he spent in prison for drug-related offences. Throughout, he never forgot how that first rejection felt.
So instead of waiting in vain for an offer, Mr Tan set up his own bak kut teh stall in 2011 with his savings and a loan from his parents. By then, he had had four years in a halfway house. Mr Tan found he had a nose for business and Soon Huat Bak Kut Teh grew steadily. It now has five outlets, including a newly opened restaurant on the second level of Chinatown Point that also sells other local dishes.
Mindful of the difficulties faced by former offenders in getting jobs, Mr Tan decided from the start that he would use his business to give them a helping hand.
Run as a social enterprise, Soon Huat has 40 staff of whom half are former offenders. Two years ago, the brand was franchised to Indonesia. It is now in talks with Chinese investors to open eateries in Shanghai.
Mr Tan, now 42 and a father of two sons, aged two and four, said he changed after he found religious faith.
He is more than just an employer to his staff, who include young people at risk and single parents. Food and rent are paid for, and he chips in for necessities like children's allowances or transport fees if someone is in need. Every month, the trained prison counsellor also holds mentorship sessions for his staff.
More than 100 former offenders have benefited from Soon Huat's programmes, with some staying three to six years before moving on to other jobs.
Mr Tan acknowledges it is an uphill battle keeping his staff away from a life of crime and drugs. But he never stops believing in them, even when they relapse time and again. "Some fail us, some talk bad about us, but even if we help just one person, it's good enough."
Mr James Giam, 48, the head chef at one of Soon Huat's outlets, has been working there since 2013 but went back to jail thrice for drug offences. "I caused so much trouble for Jabez, but he never once gave up on me and believed that I could change," said Mr Giam, who has kept clear of alcohol and his former addictions for over a year.
Mr Tan hopes to grow the company, but it is not all he wants. "We don't want people to think that ex-offenders are always just beneficiaries. I hope that when they become strong, they can contribute to society and also become their own bosses."
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Mr Tan on overcoming setbacks str.sg/jabeztan
