Singaporeans are reeling from news of the death of Singaporean actor Aloysius Pang, after hopes that he would recover from a horrific accident that happened while he was on high-key reservist training in New Zealand.

On Thursday night, Pang's artiste manager Dasmond Koh and second elder brother Kenny Pang flew home from New Zealand and met with the media at the airport, right after they had landed and emerged from customs clearance, for a roughly 13-minute group interview.

"The one we all shower with love"

In the interview, broadcast on several Facebook Live streams by various media outlets, Kenny shared some tender stories about his younger brother in the first comments the Pang family has made in the wake of the 28-year-old's passing.

"He’s the precious (one) of our family, he’s the youngest, he’s the most loved. Everybody loved him as the youngest, treated him as the precious… we call him Xiao Gua 小瓜 (the smallest) for a reason, he’s the youngest and the one we will all shower with love. To reciprocate that, he also understands the point and he has also given us all the support, all the love that he can to the family."

He said Pang's focus was always his love for his parents, too, and that portrayals of him in the media and showbiz are accurate reflections of who he always was:

"I think the main priority in the family has always been his parents... his love for his parents. That has not changed and that has always been what he’s showing to the media and all the colleagues’ responses that we are all receiving right now…. showing what he truly is."

Kenny also expressed his gratefulness to MINDEF and Koh for their help in ensuring his family could gain access to Pang as quickly as they could.

Kenny spoke in a remarkably measured and collected manner, whereas it was clear Koh was more emotional, but it's worth remembering that neither of them needed to do this.

Both were sketchy on details coming back, but they did say that by the time they both arrived in New Zealand, Pang had already gone through the first two surgeries, and by that point, he was no longer conscious.

Koh and Kenny said they and the Pang family all went on an emotional rollercoaster ride throughout the short few days they spent there, and Kenny requested space for his family to grieve, while Koh appealed for patience from the public and Pang's fans as they worked out arrangements on bringing Pang's body back, and any plans for a farewell ceremony and his funeral.

Here's the full transcript of the interview:

Q: How are you guys feeling right now?

Dasmond Koh (DK): As a media person and I understand you guys have your responsibilities and have been contacting us. Since yesterday till everything that has confirmed, the ups and downs that we went through is tough to explain. So we are really sorry for not being able to respond during this period.

Q: When will Aloysius Pang be repatriated back?

DK: Not confirmed yet, we just touched down today and haven’t gotten a chance to look through at what are all the arrangements that have been done. So.. That I can’t comment any further.

Q: What are some of the plans that the family has moving forward e.g. funeral?

Kenny Pang (KP): We are currently at the grieving stage right now. This is a bit hard to accept because we are just trying to accept the reality that this has actually happened so I believe that I’d really appreciate that all this space has been given to us to make a formal decision, to really think through what is best for Aloysius before we can decide what to communicate out.

DK: To add on a little bit, we understand that he’s a celebrity that’s well-loved. Maybe a lot of fans and a lot of media would love to meet him. We are currently working with SAF to see how we can facilitate this, no actual information is given yet but we are trying our best to let Aloysius come back early… *about to cry* as early as possible..

Q: We understand the mum and the rest of the family are first to go New Zealand, was there ample information on ground given to them?

DK: No, when we left we only know he was in an emergency to go to a surgery so I think the main concern for all of us is to fly down immediately — as to what other things, that will come secondary. As the priority for the family, we wanted to see him first.

Q: Was it something family and friends were mentally prepared for?

KP: I think none of us can be mentally prepared for this but as the situation has gone to the worst, we will just… I mean it has already happened… so mentally (prepared) or not… it has happened. So now it is really for us to grieve and let us calm ourselves down as well.

Q: Can both of you describe your emotions… you know his condition stabilised and then it took a turn for the worst… you know what were your emotions then?

KP: It’s a lot of ups and downs for this entire trip. I can’t describe whether there was a moment of relief or there was a moment of sadness or whether did it get worse. Every time even when he… in his first surgery, second surgery, even in his third… we are all very worried regardless is it for the best or for the worst.

Q: When you guys reached NZ what are some of the help that you guys received or how did you guys handle the news that came along?

KP: We must be thankful that MINDEF has been aiding us in every way they can, with all the arrangements and all the liaising to get us to meet Aloysius as soon as possible… so for that I will have to thank MINDEF. I also have to thank Dasmond for all the help that he has aided us in every way that he can, emotionally, family support and even doing all the liaising with MINDEF so it has been.. (interrupted)

DK: It’s tough for everybody.

Q: What kind of celebrity was Aloysius in your agency and what are some of his final wishes that you guys hope to fulfil on his behalf?

DK: *overwhelmed and couldn’t answer*

KP: Okay, let me answer that. I believe that Aloysius has a lot of aspiration and he has a lot of things that he shared that he wants to do in the future. So… he has always been a very careful person and he puts a lot of thought in what he wants to do.

So for any unfinished work that he plans, I would really want everybody to communicate with the family and to make sure that we have looked through his product or look through his roles to make sure that this is the best that we know he wants to show. I’ve already talked to Dasmond, I’ll let him be the main liaison to ensure that he communicates this out and to decide whether or not should we want to showcase to the media or showcase out to the public

DK: yeah...

Q: Was Aloysius awake when you all met him and did he say anything to you?

KP: I didn’t manage to meet him awake. We didn’t get the opportunity to.

Q: What you and the authorities hope to do right now? Are you guys still hoping for more answers?

KP: I guess MINDEF has already done their brief this afternoon. As of what I mentioned, I didn’t get a chance to look at my phone or to look at any news to get any latest update. That I’ll get MINDEF to communicate to us directly.

DK: For this one this is a bit sensitive because it’s still going through investigation and of course, we cannot comment further until the next report is out. Of course we will take it step by step, after all these reports are out…I think for the time being, that is not our primary concern. Our primary concern is to get Aloysius back.

Q: What were your feelings and what are the plans moving forward?

DK: When we first heard the news, most of us tried to head over to New Zealand but we didn’t really get a chance to really speak to Aloysius. We definitely felt many ups and downs while being in New Zealand because… like any surgery, you might see stability or his condition may improve at first but it can also deteriorate very quickly afterwards. All these make us feel like we're on a rollercoaster, and so we've (him and Pang's brothers) had to try to control and suppress our emotions.

However, I feel what’s tough on them (Pang's brothers) particularly is that his parents are around too — so besides controlling their own emotions, they have to take care of and manage their parents’ emotions too. They are kind of stuck in between.

This is a result that no one wants so what’s most important to us now is to see when we can bring Aloysius back and see subsequently if we can arrange something for fans and colleagues to bid him farewell. These are the most important things to us right now.

Q: Did he say anything before he passed away?

DK: Ummm.. like what I said just now, actually when we reached New Zealand, it was already after his first and second surgeries, so he was unconscious by then. We were unable to chat with him or communicate with him so we didn’t manage to interact much with him.

Q: How he was as a brother to you?

KP: I think from all the responses that he has been receiving, all the love and care, that is who he is… as transparent as he is.. he’s as caring as devoted to his passion so that is the true self of Aloysius. He has always been taking care… I think the main priority in the family has always been his parents... his love for his parents. That has not changed and that has always been what he’s showing to the media and all the colleagues’ responses that we are all receiving right now…. showing what he truly is.

Q: Are the parents in NZ or in SG?

DK: Sorry, we are unable to reveal this.

Q: So based on what you mentioned just now..there is a plan to hold a memorial for Aloysius?

DK: We are still communicating with Aloysius’s family… because we are not sure about the length of the entire flow and how to manage the possible situations (whether a ceremony should be held). However, we all agree that we should try to do something like that for the fans who also wish to say goodbye to Aloysius. We are in the midst of arranging but whether or not it will really happen, we will update you guys again the soonest we can, probably in the next one to two days.

Q: Do you guys have anything to say to his fans?

DK: I’m sure everyone is definitely heartbroken and I hope everyone who loves Aloysius can focus on everything he's created and all his past work… *chokes back tears* That’s the main point. Let’s not talk or post on social media about other things as his parents will eventually find out about them, so we seek your help on this and wait for us to update if there will be a memorial.

KP: I’ve received the support from the fans and care from everyone. Aloysius will definitely be appreciative of the love he has received. He really cherishes his family’s privacy, though, so we would really appreciate all the space you can give us — doing this would also be showing your respect for Aloysius's wishes.

Q: Can you share your fondest memories..

DK: I think it’s not the time now (for this question) lah, please, really. I mean, seriously I’m sorry, but we wouldn’t want to dig further and yeah... thank you.

Q: Was he particularly close to his mother or father?

KP: Definitely. He’s the precious (one) of our family, he’s the youngest, he’s the most loved. Everybody loved him as the youngest, treated him as the precious… we call him Xiao Gua 小瓜 (the smallest) for a reason, he’s the youngest and the one we will all shower with love. To reciprocate that, he also understands the point and he has also given us all the support, all the love that he can to the family.

DK: He has grown up well from the younger days, to the rebellious stage, I think (from) the reports everybody knows. The more important thing is as he grows up, we’ve seen his passion, his devotion and how focused he is on his job to make sure that he did his best and whatever that he presented out there are the best things that he can show. With that I think he has done his best.

DK, in concluding remarks:

Thanks all the media once again and we’ll let you guys know if there is any memorial ceremony or if we have any arrangements or plans for his funeral.

If you can, please help us, or at least me, relay this: I just want to tell those who love Aloysius, sorry that we can’t bring Aloysius back safe and sound this time round. I know that’s what everyone was hoping for (him to make it through and return safely) but if he's felt tired these few days and feels it's time to let go, then we should let him go... in peace. Thank you everyone.

MINDEF's update on what exactly happened:

MINDEF's chief medical officer explains why Pang's condition suddenly deteriorated so quickly:

And the Chief of Army apologises for the loss of a fellow soldier and a "precious son":

Top photo via Channel 8 News