The passing of 28-year-old actor Aloysius Pang shook Singaporeans, with many expressing disbelief and heartache.

Aloysius was carrying out repair work inside a Singapore Self-Propelled Howitzer — an artillery gun mounted on an armoured chassis — for reservist while at the Waiouru Training Area in New Zealand, when he “sustained injuries when the gun barrel was lowered”, said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF).

Many will hopeful that he would pull through, but after a series of surgeries and despite the efforts of the doctors there, he was placed on life support and eventually succumbed to his injuries.

Aloysius was a bright child star, beginning his career at a tender age of nine, before taking a hiatus at 14 and returning to the small screen again at 2012.

In 2014, he was named by Mediacorp as one of 8 Dukes of Caldecott and received the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Star Awards. He was slated to film an upcoming drama, My One in a Million, after Chinese New Year.

Main vocalist of popular K-pop boy band SHINee, Jonghyun, as he was better known, died at the age of 27 from carbon monoxide poisoning in his apartment in Seoul on Dec 18, 2017. Although widely regarded as having one of the best vocals in South Korea and applauded for his astuteness to craft his own musicality, Jonghyun struggled with depression and fame. He left a suicide note with a close friend and fellow singer Nine9, where he described his pain and said he was “broken from the inside”. His album, Poet Artist, which was completed before his death, was released by his label SM Entertainment, and all profits from the album went to his family to start a charity foundation to help others. Many believe that his death points to the demands of the South Korean culture, which has one of the highest suicide rates amongst developed nations.

Actress Emma Yong, known for being one-third of popular local musical comedy theatre act Dim Sum Dollies, succumbed to stage 4 stomach cancer (tumours had spread to her spine, uterus, pelvis and kidney) at the age of 36 after a 16-month long battle.

The bilingual thespian also starred in Glen Goei’s 2009 film The Blue Mansion where she played Mei-Yi, an oppressed daughter-in-law in a rich family, and was named Best Supporting Actress award at the 2006 Life! Theatre Awards for her role in Chinese-language musical Shanghai Blues.

Since her passing, the Emma Yong Fund was created to support local theatre practitioners that suffer from critical illnesses.

Known as “Madonna of the East”, Anita Mui was a popular Cantopop idol who died at the age of 40 in 2003 due to cervical cancer.

Anita started her career in 1982 with her debut album, Debt Heart, and had sold over 100 million records and performed over 300 concerts.

She was famous for her outrageous dance moves and costumes, as well as high-powered vocal performances, which revolutionised the gangtai style of music.

Not limited to her singing abilities, Anita was also an esteemed actress, finding success in films like The Heroic Trio (1993) and July Rhapsody (2002). She was also casted in Zhang Yimou’s 2004 film House of Flying Daggers, but had to pull out due to health reasons and passed away shortly.

CNN once placed Leslie Cheung as one of “Asia’s 25 Greatest Actors of All Time.”

Not only is he a celebrated actor for his roles in films such as Farewell My Concubine (1993) and Happy Together (1997), Leslie is also known for his Chinese pop music that dominated the airwaves alongside Anita Mui, Alan Tam and Danny Chen.

Behind his versatility lied a man plagued with depression brought on by his fame and attacks on his sexuality.

It eventually led him to commit suicide by jumping off the 24th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong at the age of 46 in 2003.

He had written a suicide note that began with the word ‘Depression’, which was found in his pocket.

Amy Winehouse, a British singer from London, was known for her soulful vocals and signature beehive up-do and thick cat eyes.

Her 2006 album, Back to Black, not only showed off her songwriting prowess, it also showcased her abilities to shine across soul and rhythm and blues musical genres.

The album also led her to win five Grammys in 2008, which included Best Pop Vocal Album and Song of the Year for Rehab.

But behind her powerful voice and unique take on music, Amy struggled with substance and alcohol abuse, depression, eating disorders, and a toxic relationship with former husband Blake Felder-Civil, who reportedly introduced the singer to drugs.

Many artists have credited Winehouse as an influence who helped pave the way for them, including Adele, Duffy, Ellie Goulding and Emeli Sandé.

Known most famously for his role as a naive quarterback, Finn Hudson, in American musical dramedy Glee, Cory Monteith, 31, was found dead in a Vancouver hotel room in July 2013 after consuming a deadly combination of heroin and alcohol.

The actor, who was dating fellow Glee actress Lea Michele both on-screen and off, had been struggling with alcohol and substance abuse since he was 13 and had entered rehabilitation twice by the time he was 19.

Seven months prior to his death, Cory had checked into rehab for the third time.

Known for his critically acclaimed roles in Brokeback Mountain (2005) and as Joker in Batman film The Dark Knight (2008), the 28-year-old Australian actor died after accidentally overdosing in 2008. He had posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joker. Before his death, Ledger’s former fiancee Michelle Williams had revealed that the actor had insomnia and had to take sleeping pills. Heath himself admitted in an interview that although his body was exhausted, his mind just kept going. In 2011, the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia in Perth named a 575 seat proscenium theatre after the actor.

Aaliyah Dana Haughton, or better known as Aaliyah, was a popular hip-hop and R&B singer before she died in a plane crash in the Bahamas at the age of 22 in 2001.

She was in the Bahamas to film the music video for her song, Rock The Boat.

A child star who first gained recognition at the age of 10 when she appeared on a television show Star Search, she went on to sign with Jive Records and her uncle Barry Hankerson’s Blackground Records.

Having sold over an estimated 24 million albums worldwide, Aaliyah is remembered for her contributions to the music industry that has since influenced fellow artists like Adele and Rihanna.