SINGAPORE: As wreaths from well-wishers continued to be carried into the tentage at 82A MacPherson Lane minutes before the wake for Aloysius Pang was opened to the public on Saturday (Jan 26), a queue of at least 80 had snaked all the way out onto the pavement parallel to the main road.
“What a loss, what a loss,” a passer-by muttered to himself in Mandarin. “He’s the same age as my child.”
Pang, an actor, died on Wednesday in a military training accident during a Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) training exercise in New Zealand.
At a press conference on Thursday, SAF senior commanders said Pang was crushed between the gun barrel of a howitzer and its cabin after he was “unable to get out of the way” as the barrel was lowered.
READ: Actor Aloysius Pang dies after sustaining serious injuries in SAF training accident
The 28-year-old was an armament technician with the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery, and was on reservist at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand as part of an annual Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) exercise called Exercise Thunder Warrior.
At noon, members of the public, were allowed in to pay their respects. Some had been waiting for almost two hours.
One of the first in the queue was a 31-year-old who only wanted to be known as Alex.
“There’s been too many NS training related deaths,” he said.
“These are things which shouldn’t be happening. How many heartbroken parents are out there because of all these needless deaths?
“I was hoping that he would recover but at the back of my head I knew that he could die too. I’m three parts angry and one part sad. This doesn’t need to happen. It’s unbearable.”
Kenny Pang, the brother of Alyosius Pang, is seen at the wake on Jan 26, 2019. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
Members of the public queue as they wait to pay their respects at Aloysius Pang’s wake. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
Members of the public were allowed in to the wake in batches, patiently waiting their turn behind barricades before finally entering the main wake area.
“I couldn’t control my emotions after seeing his photo,” said a member of the public who only wanted to be known as Ting Ting.
“The last time I met him was at a fans gathering at Tampines Hub last July. He was kind, gentle and down-to-earth, you could see that from the way he interacted with us.
“He was a very good man, good actor, and had a long way to go in life.”
Local celebs and fellow actors seen at the wake of Aloysius Pang on Jan 26, 2019. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
A condolence card and flowers at the wake of Aloysius Pang on Jan 26, 2019. (Photo: Gaya Chandramohan)
Pang will be accorded the full honours of a military funeral, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) on Friday (Jan 25). He will be cremated on Sunday at Mandai Crematorium.
