Singaporean actor (1990–2019)
Aloysius Pang Wei Chong (24 August 1990 – 24 January 2019) was a Singaporean actor managed under NoonTalk Media, best known for his involvement in multiple Mediacorp dramas.
Pang died on 24 January 2019 at 1:45am NZDT (23 January 2019 at 8:45pm SST)[1] due to serious crush injuries sustained from a military accident while on Operationally Ready National Service reservist training in the Singapore Army, aged 28.
Career
Pang started acting at the age of nine after he joined an acting class organised by Mediacorp, and starred in children dramas such as My Teacher, My Buddy (1999), Bukit Ho Swee (2002), The Adventures of BBT (2002), A Child's Hope (Season 1, 2003; Season 2, 2004), and I Love My Home (2004). Growing up with the Chinese name of 冯伟忠, Pang later changed the last character of his Chinese name from 忠 to 衷 to reference the old shows he did as a child actor, while retaining its pronunciation. He was nominated for his role as Ding Wei Liang in A Child's Hope in Star Awards 2003 Young Talent Award in Star Awards 2003.[7] He left acting in 2004 after being repeatedly bullied;[8] in a 2015 interview he said he'd "told [Mediacorp] to take my file out and never call [him] again".[9]
In 2012, Pang made his comeback in the lead role of the film Timeless Love, which was directed by Lim Koong Hwee and Singaporean celebrity Dasmond Koh. Pang made his directorial debut in 2014 by directing the music video of Singapore-based singer Gavin Teo's I Understand (我懂了),[10] which also starred Xu Bin and Kimberly Chia.[11]
In 2014, he was named one of the 8 Dukes of Caldecott Hill and went on to win the Best Newcomer at the Star Awards 2015. Pang released his first single "Black Tears" (黑色眼泪) in 2015. It was also announced that Pang would star in Singapore's first cosplay-themed movie, Young & Fabulous. Together with Xu Bin, he also took part in an online variety show produced by NoonTalk Media, called Freshmen (来吧！上课啦！).[12]
From Star Awards 2013 to Star Awards 2016, he was nominated for Favourite Male Character. In Star Awards 2015, he was awarded the Best Newcomer and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor & Rocket. In Star Awards 2016, he won his first award for Top 10 Most Popular Male Artistes. [13]
Pang was known for setting aside 10 percent of his pay to thank and bless the production people on set.[14]
On 7 April 2017, in an interview with Mediacorp's Toggle, Pang said that he would not renew his contract with Mediacorp in order to focus on a business he had set up with his brother. The company was named Kairos Green and focused on wood plastic composite.[15]
In 2018, he acted in a Toggle romance-mystery series From Beijing to Moscow where he made a two-month road trip to China, Mongolia and Russia with Felicia Chin, River Huang and Jojo Goh. It premiered on Toggle in June 2019.[7]
Pang was to start shooting in February 2019 and take on his first lead role in the Channel 8 romantic comedy drama My One In a Million, alongside his long-time onscreen partner Carrie Wong before his death.[16] His role was given to Beijing-based local actor Lawrence Wong.[17][18]
In May 2022, three years after Pang died, it was announced that a Singapore–Thailand film, The Antique Shop, which features scenes of Pang, which were filmed prior to his death, would be released in Thailand on 2 June. This would be his final posthumous work.[19]
Personal life
Pang was in a unpublicized relationship with actress Jayley Woo which first started from 2017.[20][21] Shortly after his death, Woo revealed that they'd only planned to go public after the wedding.[22] She did not elaborate on the reason for keeping the relationship secret, but Pang's manager Dasmond Koh is known to have imposed a no-dating rule on his stable of artistes.[23]
Death
On 19 January 2019, while taking part in a live-firing exercise at Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand as an Operationally Ready National Serviceman, Pang entered the cabin of a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer (SSPH) to troubleshoot a fault. At 7:05 pm NZDT (2:05 pm SST),[24] to enable diagnosis of the fault, the barrel of the howitzer was automatically lowered to neutral position within the cabin. Pang was in the path of the receding barrel and sustained severe crush injuries to his chest and abdomen as a result.[25]
Pang was evacuated by helicopter to the Waiouru Camp Medical Centre and then to Waikato Hospital, where he had abdominal surgery.[24] Despite further surgery and initially being conscious, his condition later deteriorated and he was placed on life support for his heart, lungs and kidneys.[26] He died at the hospital on 24 January 2019 at 1:45 am NZDT (23 January 2019 8:45 pm SST). According to New Zealand laws, before the body could be repatriated back to Singapore, a post-mortem was to be performed with permission from the family,[27] but it did not proceed as Pang's family did not grant it.[28]
Pang's body was repatriated the following day.[29] A wake began on the morning of 26 January 2019. Initially limited to family and relatives, it was opened to the public from 26 January 2019, 12pm till 27 January 2019, 12pm. Thousands came and paid their respects, including close friends, media artistes, politicians and fans.[29][30][31] Pang was accorded a military funeral later on 27 January 2019 and his casket was moved to the Mandai Crematorium.[32] He was cremated in the evening.[33] His ashes were scattered into the sea off the island of Pulau Ubin the following day. Pang is survived by his parents and two brothers.[34]
Impact and aftermath
Pang was the first soldier to be injured due to gun lowering while operating the SSPH as claimed by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a media release clarifying the safety record of the artillery vehicle.[35] His death sparked renewed concerns about the accountability for and safety of military training, and prompted other national servicemen to share their experiences in the military online.[30][36][37] After Pang's death, MINDEF called for a safety timeout for the Army and halted all training, including strenuous physical exercise, such as jogging, route marches and the Individual Physical Proficiency Test, pending safety reviews.[38]
On 25 January 2019, MINDEF set up a Committee of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the death of Pang. He was also posthumously promoted to the rank of Corporal first class, the highest enlistee rank within the Singapore Armed Forces.[39]
On 1 February 2019, MINDEF announced that the SAF would be setting up a new Inspector-General Office (IGO), which directly reports to the Chief of Defence Force,[40] and absorbing the existing Safety and Systems Review Directorate (SSRD) in the process.[41] It would have full authority to scrutinise and enforce safety processes and practices at all levels.[40] Existing responsibilities of the SSRD include convening external review panels and conduct external benchmarking of safety practices and standards, reviewing safety-related reports including those of the Committees of Inquiry, and reviewing specific MINDEF/SAF systems as required.[41] On 27 February, Brigadier General Tan Chee Wee assumed the Office while simultaneously appointed to be the Chief of Staff, Joint Staff of SAF.[42]
On 6 May 2019, the findings from the COI were presented in the Singapore Parliament by Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen.[43] It was found that the primary issue was that the gun barrel was lowered without ensuring that everyone was in a safe position. There was no evidence indicating foul play or deliberate acts found. At the time of accident, Pang was together with a NSMan gun commander, 3SG(NS) Hubert Wah, aged 31 and a Military Expert technician, ME2 Ivan Teo, aged 35.[44] Pang did not move away from the gun barrel as required in the operating procedures, claiming that he would not be hit. Both Wah and Teo miscalculated the space in the cabin and the time needed for the barrel to be lowered, and Wah, proceeded to lower the gun barrel. After the gun barrel has been lowered for a time, Pang began to move away, however it was too late and was caught between the end of the barrel and the top of the cabin above him. Both Wah and Teo tried to stop the barrel from lowering through the main control screen and manually resisting the motion of the barrel, instead of activating the emergency stop buttons located at their respective positions in the howitzer. The COI stated the safety lapses were preventable if the standard operating procedures were followed. The External Review Panel on SAF Safety has also recommended to SAF to do more to improve on the 'weak' safety culture.[45]
On 31 July 2019, Teo and Wah were charged under the Singapore Armed Forces Act and the Penal Code in a military court for causing death under rash and/or negligent acts and for disobeying military general orders.[44] On 19 November 2019, they pleaded guilty and were sentenced on the same day with Wah and Teo fined $8,000 and $7,000 respectively. Should the fine not be paid, Wah and Teo would be detained for 40 days and 35 days respectively. Wah would also be demoted from the rank of Third Sergeant to Corporal.[46] The Pang family had requested a lenient sentence, saying that "One loss is enough. Other parents' sons have a life ahead of them."[47]
Tributes
A video tribute to Pang was aired on Channel 8 on 31 January 2019.[11] On 14 April 2019, a special memoriam was given during the 2019 Star Awards ceremony, where performers Xu Bin, Timothee Yap, Zong Zijie and Gavin Teo performed the song Voices From My Heart 小人物的心声 while montages of Pang were shown. However the Honorary TV Award, a posthumous award for artistes who contributed significantly to the industry, was not presented.[48]
