Workers’ Party leaders express sadness over death of Aloysius Pang, call for measures to prevent repeat

SINGAPORE — Workers’ Party (WP) leaders on Thursday (Jan 24) expressed their sadness over the death of actor Aloysius Pang, with party chief Pritam Singh saying the loss hit close to home for him.

Mr Singh, who is on reservist duty, said in a Facebook post that he has been “back in green” since Monday.

“Like many Singaporeans, I have been both anxious and worried about one of our NSmen who suffered a training accident in New Zealand, particularly after his medical condition deteriorated,” he wrote.

“Having been in uniform for the last four days, the news of his death last night is more acute, with the loss of a fellow NSman hitting closer to home.”

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Mr Singh noted that NS training has evolved to become more focused over the years. The food quality has increased “by leaps and bounds”, he said.

“We have become more conscious of safety and balancing it with realistic training. The quality of our personal equipment, uniforms etc. is better than before.”

He added that in spite of the changes, one thing remains constant: “That sense of camaraderie — regardless of rank, race or religion when we swap our civvies for uniform, even if it is only for a few weeks a year.”

“Like all NSmen and NSF personnel who have passed on while on duty, we pray for strength for their families and loved ones through difficult times. And we stand with them.”

The tribute comes amid an outpouring of grief that followed the news of the 28-year-old actor’s death at 8.45pm on Wednesday at Waikato Hospital in New Zealand.

Corporal First Class (National Service) Pang succumbed to his injuries, which were sustained on Jan 19 while carrying out repair works inside the Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer with two other Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel during a military exercise at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand. He was an armament technician from the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery.

In announcing his death on Wednesday night, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said an independent Committee of Inquiry (COI) will be convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.

Former Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Gerald Giam took to Facebook to urge the authorities to “get to the bottom of this”, and be “fully transparent” about the cause of the accident.

“Mindef and the COI must… implement measures to prevent this from ever happening again,” said Mr Giam, adding that he was “absolutely gutted” to hear of the news.

“It’s a terrible loss for his family, and for Singapore… Families entrust their sons and brothers to the care of the army. No family should have to suffer such a tragedy,” added Mr Giam.

Non-constituency MPs Leon Perera and Dennis Tan also shared their sentiments on Facebook, with both calling Pang’s death a “tragedy”.

“Every training death is a tragedy, whatever the cause. As NSmen, we desire to inpro and outpro together safely for every call up,” said Mr Tan.

“My thoughts are with Corporal First Class (National Service) Aloysius Pang’s family and his fellow NSmen in his Battalion.”