The Ministry of Defence (Mindef) has given out further details on the injuries that local actor Aloysius Pang sustained while serving his reservist duties in an overseas exercise in New Zealand.
Corporal First Class (National Service) Pang was said to have been part of Exercise Thunder Warrior at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand when he sustained a serious injury on Saturday afternoon. The 28-year-old Armament Technician from the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery had been carrying out repair works inside an artillery vehicle called the Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer.
According to Mindef’s update yesterday, CFC (NS) Pang suffer injuries to his chest and abdominal areas. After being evacuated by helicopter to Waikoto Hospital in Hamilton, he underwent abdominal surgery that night. Yesterday morning, a “follow-up relook surgery” was carried out successfully.
“A medical team from Singapore is working with the New Zealand team to provide the best possible care for CFC (NS) Pang,” wrote Mindef, adding that his mother has since visited Pang and spoke to him in hospital. Arrangements were made to fly his father and brother to New Zealand, who landed last night.
A star of local Mandarin TV, it looks like the actor might not be back on the small screens anytime soon. Tan Tock Seng Hospital’s chief of trauma Dr. Teo Li Tserng — tasked by the Singapore Armed Forces to assist in the monitoring of Pang — advised that the actor should be resting for at least six months. No set time has been established to bring Pang back to Singapore, said the doctor, as his condition has to be stable enough to make the trip home.
Nonetheless, Dr. Teo assured that Pang’s vitals are in a stable condition and that he is awake, alert and breathing on his own without the assistance of mechanical ventilation.
Investigations have been launched to determine the cause of the incident. According to a Straits Times report, Pang’s role in the Channel 8 drama My One In A Million will be recast to allow the actor to focus on his recovery.
