Singaporean actor Pang Wei Chong dies after military training in New Zealand

A Singaporean actor and soldier who was injured during a military exercise in Waiouru over the weekend has died.

Pang Wei Chong, an Armament Technician reservist from the 268th Battalion Singapore Artillery, was injured while carrying out repair work on a self-propelled Howitzer weapon last Saturday.

He sustained injuries when the gun barrel was lowered.

He was taken to Waikato Hospital, where he underwent a number of surgeries to treat his injuries.

A spokesperson for WorkSafe said it had been informed of the death and was making enquiries.

Doctor Teo Li Tserng, chief of trauma and acute care surgery at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, was flown in to assist the New Zealand medical team.

The Singapore Ministry of Defence said in a statement that despite surgical attempts to repair damaged organs and putting him on artificial life support, Mr Pang succumbed to the injuries and died last night.

Earlier, a New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson confirmed the injury happened during Exercise Thunder Warrior - a live-firing exercise it hosts each year.

The New Zealand Defence Force hosts the exercise and provides administrative support and liaison officers but was not taking part.

It says no New Zealand personnel were involved in the accident and its thoughts are with Corporal Pang's family, friends and colleagues.

An independent Committee of Inquiry will investigate and preliminary findings will be presented on Thursday by the chief of the Defence Force.

The Singapore Armed Forces will be making arrangements to take the body back to Singapore.

Mr Pang is an actor who has starred in a number of Singaporean films and television series.

His family had earlier posted on social media about the actor's condition and what doctors had told them.

View this post on Instagram

On behalf of our family Throughout the past few days in the hospital, it has been a difficult time for us. Every news that were brought upon us since his last op was devastating with little signs of hope on his recovery. We all broke down when the medical team spoke to us that his condition is worsening and we should be prepared for the worst. We're going to lose a brother. And my parents are going to lose their precious son whom is only 28. Thus I seek everybody's kind understanding that we are unable to comment further during these precarious time.

A post shared by 冯伟衷 Aloysius Pang (@aloypang) on Jan 23, 2019 at 7:35am PST