Dennis Wee, realtor and founder of the Dennis Wee Group (DWG), has died.

He was 71.

His passing on April 3 was confirmed by his offspring on social media.

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A post shared by Daphne Wee (@xdaphnewee)

The posts paid tribute to their father, who battled cancer over the past year.

PropNex chief executive officer Ismail Gafoor also paid tribute to the late Wee.Wee, a father of three, handed over the reins of his property business to his son, Denka Wee, in 2017 and retired, according to silverstreak.sg.

He started out as an office boy and worked as an offshore oil surveyor that took him to the Philippines, India and Fiji.

He had to clean toilets as part of his job on board ships.

After 14 years on the job, he got retrenched.

Jobless and married to Priska Wee with a six-year-old son, Wee was invited by a friend in the real estate business to try property sales.

Wee, a Peranakan, had long hair at that time and swopped his t-shirt and jeans for dress shirts and pants.

After about a year, he left his friend’s firm and did property as a freelancer before joining ERA.

He found success in property sales and was one of the first property agents to have a photograph on his business card.

Six years later in 1992, Wee founded the Dennis Wee Group (DWG) with his wife Priska.

When he first started the business, he reportedly only took days off on his birthday, Lunar New Year and Christmas.

DWG then branched out into international markets in Japan, United Kingdom and Thailand and the business grew over the next 25 years.

In 2017, DWG merged with PropNex Realty, helmed by Ismail.

An avid cyclist and cook, Wee retired officially and travelled the world with his wife.

He is survived by his wife, a son and two daughters.

Top photos via Dennis Wee Facebook