Singaporean actor Aloysius Pang died on Wednesday due to an accident while he was in military training in New Zealand. The actor, who starred in Chinese-language movies and TV shows, suffered from serious injuries on his abdomen and chest while repairing artillery.
Aloysius was working on Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer, a motorized piece of artillery that looks like a small tank, the South China Morning Post reported. The live-firing training exercise reportedly took place at the Waiouru training area - New Zealand's North Island - and hosted by the military in New Zealand every year.
The 28-year-old actor was sent to the hospital following the accident and underwent surgery. In a statement released by the Singapore's defense ministry on Wednesday, doctors attempted to repair his damaged organs and put him on artificial life support, but he succumbed to injuries and passed away. The ministry added an inquiry would be set up to investigate the death of the actor.
In Singapore, Male citizens were required to undergo two years of national service when they turn the age of 18, and they'll be called up for further training in the following years. Aloysius had already completed his full-time service - he was an armament technician whose rank was corporal first class.
Before going to New Zealand, the actor even posted on his Twitter and Instagram account and announced to his fans he'll be leaving the country for three weeks due to reservist. He added, "I'll be back in action soon."
View this post on Instagram2018 flew by in a jiffy. Unfortunately, my 2019 will start with me flying to New Zealand for 3 weeks due to reservist. I'll be back in action soon. 2019, I think many major decisions will be made. I guess the start of a new year is an excuse for me to make bolder changes for myself. Let's hope for the best =) Happy new year to all, and may your upcoming year be better than the last! A post shared by 冯伟衷 Aloysius Pang (@aloypang) on Jan 1, 2019 at 1:31am PST
His family posted a photo on his Instagram before his death, saying it has been a difficult time for them. NoonTalk Media, Aloysius' Singapore agency, also posted a photo of the actor on their Facebook page and wrote "Dear Aloysius, you'll be missed." Actress Jayley Woo, who revealed herself to be the actor's girlfriend, also paid tribute and said: "world was over."
Aloysius first rose to popularity as a child actor. Over the past years, he starred in locally produced films and Chinese language shows such as TV programs "C.L.I.F." (2011) and "The Truth Seekers" (2016), and the movie "Young & Fabulous" (2016).
The actor was the latest person who died during training with the Singapore military. In April 2018, a man on a national service reportedly died due to heatstroke after an 8km march, and in November, another person on national service died due to an accident which involved an armored military vehicle.
