Hassan said he and his teammates were feeling down after the loss to Thailand. But back in the locker room, his phone started buzzing with messages and emails.
“I was wondering what’s happening. That’s when I received a lot of positive messages, comments from people in China,” he said.
“My family is obviously a bit shocked by all these messages. Especially my daughters, they’re like, ‘Why (do) I see your face everywhere?'”
The next day, grateful Chinese fans in Singapore thronged Dapur Hassan, his family’s food stall in Tampines, causing it to sell out early.
Fans in China who wanted to express their gratitude transferred money to the stall’s Alipay account, after netizens circulated photos of its payment QR code online.
“I did enjoy it for a while. I was like, oh okay, money coming in. But having said that, I was thinking when is this going to stop? Is this legal?” Hassan said.
He will soon issue a call for supporters to stop transferring money, after “calls from concerned people” who advised him to “stay away from all this to avoid any misunderstanding”.
“I’m doing it for the safety of my career and my family,” he told CNA. “I think we have to stop somewhere.”
“I’ve come a long way. I started at the age of 18, 19. I’m 40 this year. Imagine all the struggles, all the sacrifices I’ve made,” he said.
“I don’t want to just jeopardise or destroy it in just one snap of the finger. So it’s something I have to be careful (about).”