Ministers, MPs offer condolences to family of late NSman Aloysius Pang

SINGAPORE — Adding to the outpouring of grief for actor Aloysius Pang who died after a military training mishap, ministers and Members of Parliament (MPs) took to social media to offer their condolences to his family on Thursday (Jan 24). They included Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat and Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu.

Mr Heng — who is in Davos, Switzerland for the World Economic Forum — wrote on his Facebook page: “It is with a very heavy heart that I think of the sorrow you are going through. My family and I, together with many fellow Singaporeans, wish you all strength in this difficult time.”

Ms Fu wrote in English and Chinese that she was saddened by Pang’s “sudden passing”, and that “we will remember the actor for his dedication to and love for his craft”.

Read also

• Doctors treating Pang expected complications given the severe injuries: Chief Army Medical Officer
• Actor Aloysius Pang crushed by gun barrel, suffered injury to ‘multiple organs’
• Death of actor Aloysius Pang latest in series of SAF training-related fatalities since Sep 2017
• New Zealand authorities to conduct post-mortem on Aloysius Pang before repatriation

Corporal First Class (National Service) Pang, who had starred in television dramas and was an armament technician from the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery, died in New Zealand on Wednesday evening after four days in Waikato Hospital there. He suffered injuries to multiple organs while doing repair works to a military vehicle on Saturday and had to be placed on artificial life support.

He was involved in a military exercise at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand as an operationally ready national serviceman (NSman), and was with two other Singapore Armed Forces personnel trying to fix a problem in the howitzer.

During a press conference on Thursday, Chief of Army Goh Si Hou revealed that Pang was crushed when a gun barrel in the howitzer — an artillery gun mounted on an armoured chassis — was lowered and he could not get out of the way. 

Dr Maliki Osman, Senior Minister of State for Defence and Foreign Affairs, also wrote on Facebook that he was “deeply saddened” by Pang’s death and extended his “deepest regrets and condolences to his family”.

Ms Sun Xueling, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs and National Development, said that she observed a minute’s silence with some full-time national servicemen from the police this morning, in honour of Pang.

She wrote in a mix of English and Chinese: “I have not served NS (National Service). But I am a mother. There is an unbearable grief when (an older person has to say goodbye to a younger person in death). Every parent wants answers. Their sons are entrusted to the state during the sacred NS years.”

MP Alex Yam said that “it was a life cut short too suddenly, too tragically and too needlessly”.

Leaders and members from the Workers’ Party spoke out about the fatal incident as well, with party chief Pritam Singh, who is now on reservist duty as Pang was, saying the loss hit close to home for him.