Family, friends, colleagues and fans bid goodbye to Aloysius Pang
In pain, his priority was still his mum
She clung on to the framed image minutes after she had said her final goodbye, almost inconsolable as she held the picture of her youngest child tight to her chest while her oldest, Mr Jefferson Pang, supported her at the Mandai Crematorium.
He had spoken of the special bond his mother shared with her youngest son, his actor-brother Aloysius Pang, in a eulogy at a memorial service earlier, revealing how she doted on him, going through his scripts and accompanying him to sets.
Corporal First Class (NS) Pang, 28, died on Wednesday last week at a hospital in Hamilton, New Zealand, after sustaining serious injuries while repairing a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer during a military exercise. The Ministry of Defence has convened an independent Committee of Inquiry to investigate the incident.
Speaking on behalf of the family at the memorial held at 82A MacPherson Lane, Mr Jefferson Pang revealed his mother was the first to see his brother when he was conscious at the hospital on Jan 21, following surgery after the Jan 19 incident.
She was crying a lot when she saw him in pain, Mr Jefferson Pang said: "Aloysius' kryptonite is actually my mother's tears. When she cries, he will cry with her...
"When mum was crying by his bed, the first reply that he gave was, 'Mum don't cry. If you cry I will cry too, and I am in a lot of pain. I will recover in a couple of days, and I will take you to the New Zealand casino.'"
He said while his brother was in so much pain, "his first priority was still mum".
Fellow actors, fans and members of the public continued to stream in yesterday on the second day of the wake.
Colleagues shared anecdotes and paid tribute to Mr Pang, describing him as a kind and thoughtful man who was passionate about his craft.
Some fans were so overcome with grief that they fainted.
Actress Kym Ng, said in her eulogy: "Why do I love Aloysius? He was very sensible, always very thoughtful, dedicated to his friends and his work. I will miss you Aloysius, your smile, your big eyes, and the gentleness in your voice when you talk. Farewell."
Mr Pang was accorded a military funeral, with his coffin draped with the state flag.
A crowd made up of family members, friends, celebrities and fans accompanied the hearse as it left MacPherson Lane for the crematorium.
At Mandai, around 300 personnel from the Artillery formation were present, saluting their fallen comrade, and eight servicemen from the Singapore Armed Forces carried the coffin into the service hall, accompanied by around a hundred people.
Shortly after the service, the Last Post ceremony, involving the firing of three shots by six servicemen, took place, followed by a minute's silence.
Recalling how Mr Pang had helped counsel her children when they were going through a rebellious phase, actress Hong Huifang, said: "Aloysius, you are the son every parent wants."
'He always went the extra mile': Tributes to Aloysius Pang
Many veterans on the local media scene gave eulogies at Mr Aloysius Pang's wake yesterday.
Among them were producers, directors, actresses and actors including close friends Shane Pow and Xu Bin.
ACTRESS KYM NG, 51
"He is the only one who sat with me and listened to me drunkenly talk nonsense until the sun came up. As a friend he was so sincere and would never make you feel like he wanted anything from you. He used his heart and time to spend it with you."
ACTRESS HONG HUIFANG, 59
"When we filmed Super Senior (in 2015), There were six veterans on the show - myself, Jin jie, Chen Shucheng, Xiang Yun, Zhu Houren and Richard Low - and Aloysius was our darling. We were in the sun all day and sunburnt... he bought aloe vera gel from a nearby shop and hung one on each of our hotel room doors."
ACTOR CHEN SHUCHENG, 69
"Some say that the old should not send off the young but I'm here today because I want to tell him that I can't bear to let him go, my heart breaks for him and I will always remember him in my heart. I wish him a good journey."
ACTRESS FELICIA CHIN, 34
"(Aloysius) would set aside 10 per cent of his pay every month to thank and bless the production people. He said it wasn't very much and that the crew worked very hard. And that made me (feel) very touched."
ACTRESS CARRIE WONG, 25
"We were filming You Can Be An Angel 2, and we had to go to the hospital every day. And there was a corner of the hospital where some intellectually disabled kids would be, and every day before filming started, he would go there first to find them, buy them drinks and chitchat with them.
"Those kids, you will never be able to forget their expressions when they see him walking towards them. They will shout, 'Aloy kor kor! (Big brother Aloy)' He would always go the extra mile to bring happiness to those around him."
Fans and friends pay tribute to late actor Pang
She had been a fan of Aloysius Pang since 2000, when he was just a child actor.
When he won at the Star Awards, she was elated, having called in about 30 times to vote for him.
The moment Ms Susan Mak, 53, heard that he had suffered serious injuries during a military exercise in New Zealand last Saturday, she was constantly checking for updates on Mr Pang's condition.
Speaking yesterday at the late actor's wake, Ms Mak, who works in customer service, said: "I was really upset; I kept telling myself it was not true and that he would be fine.
"But when my friend messaged me that he was gone, I cried."
Mr Pang succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday and Ms Mak was among throngs of fans of the 28-year-old actor who turned up on the second day of the wake at 82A MacPherson Lane, before the memorial service and funeral in the afternoon.
Mr Chew Chai Seng, a businessman in his 60s, was there with his wife. The couple's son had also been on a reservist stint at around the same time as Mr Pang.
His wife said: "As parents, we were really worried, when I got the news I messaged my son immediately to check if he was okay.
"It is something that many can identify with. Reservist (duty) and national service is something so many have to go through, and while it is necessary and unavoidable, as parents of course we are all worried."
Mr Chew said that while he and his wife did not particularly follow Mr Pang's work, they had watched a lot of shows that he was in and thought he was "a very talented actor and a nice boy who respected his elders".
Siblings Benjamin and Narelle Kheng, of local English pop band The Sam Willows, were also at the wake to pay their respects. They had both worked with Pang.
Benjamin, 28, said: "(He) knew that I was a musician, and wanted to connect, so he asked if I knew this band called Kodaline and then he started singing softly, waiting for me to join in and sing along. I still remember the song, it was All I Want.
"He was truly welcoming. It's so unfair, he was the nicest guy ever."
Narelle, 25, added: "It still feels unbelievable and kind of strange that he is not around.
"He was an angel."
Jayley Woo mourns quietly in public over loss of boyfriend
Ms Jayley Woo was at the wake yesterday, head hung in sorrow when she appeared around 11.30am flanked by Mr Kenny Pang, older brother of her late boyfriend Aloysius Pang.
The 27-year-old has not uttered a word in public since the death of Aloysius, but has taken to social media to express her love for the 28-year-old actor and pay tribute to him.
In an Instagram story on Saturday, she said: "I wish that I will be able to do something for him to remember him as he is, so I will take on interviews but just not in this period of time, give me a few weeks.
"Everything is very overwhelming right now. I am very thankful for all the attention, love and everything... let's just focus on sending him off right."
In a series of Instagram posts, the actress said she had felt his presence twice since he died on Wednesday.
"But I have not gotten to meet him in my dreams yet because I have not been sleeping well," she said.
Ms Woo also hit out at those whom she seemed to suggest had been using Mr Pang's photographs for personal gain, without pointing out a specific incident.
One post which went viral has an alleged insurance agent using his death as an example of why one should buy insurance.
She also added that she was happy to have found a family in his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law.
She said: "Baby, don't worry, I will take good care of your family on your behalf. See you later"
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