A final farewell: Military funeral given to late actor Aloysius Pang
The late actor Aloysius Pang was given a military funeral on Sunday (27 January) afternoon, as hundreds of people in Singapore lined the streets to bid him farewell.
At about 3.45pm, eight military pallbearers transferred his coffin, draped with the national flag, from his wake at Blk 82A MacPherson Lane to a hearse that bore him slowly to Mandai Crematorium.
Members of Pang’s family, his friends and colleagues trailed behind the hearse on foot, as a marching band led the cortege.
Just two hours earlier, Pang’s eldest brother, Jefferson, 33, had delivered one of 14 moving eulogies for his younger sibling, saying that among his final words to their mother were, “Mom, don’t cry. If you cry, I will cry, too.”
Pang, 28, who held the rank of Corporal First Class (National Service), was the youngest of three brothers.
About 20 celebrities – including mentor and manager Dasmond Koh, Felicia Chin, Elvin Ng, Pierre Png, and Carrie Wong – were spotted entering the crematorium service hall just moments before Pang’s hearse arrived at Mandai Crematorium at about 4.45pm.
At the family’s request, members of the public and media personnel were not allowed into the private ceremony. Instead, dozens of well-wishers lined a nearby building to watch Pang’s final journey.
About 300 Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) personnel from the artillery formation, wearing black armbands on their left arms, flanked both sides of a driveway still wet from a heavy afternoon shower.
Standing neatly at attention, they raised their right hands in unison to salute Pang’s moving hearse, as a sombre, but booming, tune performed by the military band reverberated throughout the quiet compound.
Following closely behind on foot as the band marched forward was Pang’s second eldest brother Kenny, 32, who later stopped at the entrance of the service hall.
Holding Pang’s funeral portrait close to his chest, the older Pang solemnly waited as pallbearers carried his sibling’s flag-draped coffin past him, into the hall where loved ones awaited.
About 15 minutes after the cremation ceremony began at 5pm, six soldiers standing outside performed a three-volley salute as a mark of respect.
Soon after the shots were fired, Pang’s coffin was wheeled into the crematory.
Outside, next to where the soldiers stood, a bugler sounded The Last Post to mark a final farewell to the late serviceman.
A minute of silence was observed, followed by the sounding of The Rouse signifying the end of the military funeral.
CFC (NS) Pang suffered “crush” injuries to his chest and abdominal areas last Saturday afternoon after being caught between the end of the gun barrel and the interior of a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer that he and two other SAF personnel were servicing.
At the time of the incident, Pang, an armament technician from the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery, was one of more than 500 soldiers participating in Exercise Thunder Warrior in New Zealand.
Despite undergoing three operations, his condition worsened. He was placed on artificial life support at the intensive care unit in Waikato Hospital, New Zealand, before succumbing to his injuries on Wednesday night.
Following his death, the fourth SAF-training related fatality in 16 months, top SAF commanders called for an army-wide safety timeout as well as a reduction in training tempo across the army, navy and the air force.
The Ministry of Defence has said that an independent Committee of Inquiry will be convened to investigate the circumstances leading to the incident.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Sunday evening changed his Facebook profile photo to that of a black ribbon, a symbol of mourning, to pay his final respects to Pang.
He wrote, “A son of SAF, a son of Singapore is lost. We grieve and are deeply sorry.”
– with additional reporting by Amir Hussain
Related stories:
Aloysius Pang’s death: ‘Don’t cry, mom. If you cry, I will cry, too’
Aloysius Pang’s death: ‘I couldn’t bear to leave’ the wake, says grieving well-wisher
PHOTOS: Celebrities and fans mourn Aloysius Pang at his memorial
Aloysius Pang’s death: Priority now is to get family’s ‘precious’ back home, not seek ‘answers’
Aloysius Pang suffered ‘major trauma’, complications were ‘expected’: Top army doctor
Aloysius Pang death: SAF calls for army-wide safety timeout, reduction in training tempo
Aloysius Pang ‘unable to get out of the way’ of gun barrel, suffered crush injuries: SAF
Actor Aloysius Pang dies after army training incident in New Zealand
