HONG KONG - Late actor Kenneth Tsang was in Singapore for four days and had laksa before returning to Hong Kong, according to a director friend he had met in Singapore.

Tsang was found dead in a quarantine hotel in Hong Kong at age 87 on April 27 after returning there on April 25.

According to Hong Kong's Ming Pao Weekly, Tsang was feeling bored in Hong Kong due to the pandemic and happened to land a job in Singapore.

He decided to make a trip to Singapore and Malaysia, visiting his old friends and sightseeing at the same time.

One of those he met in Singapore was director Tao Yung Hung.

"He stayed in Singapore for four days after he returned from Malaysia," Tao told Ming Pao Weekly.

"My wife and I met him every day and we chatted happily."

Tao and Tsang took two photos together before Tsang went back to Hong Kong.

"He ate laksa in Singapore on April 24 and we took these photos after I sent him to the hotel in the afternoon," Tao said.

Tsang had acted in Singapore during the 1990s, in television serials such as The Teochew Family (1995), The Unbeatables II (1996) and The New Adventures Of Wisely (1998).

On Thursday night (April 28), Tsang's studio released on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, the last photo of him in a room in the quarantine hotel.

The studio wrote: "Mr Tsang said on Tuesday that there was no need to worry as he was fine and in good health. He said he wanted to get a haircut after completing his quarantine as he felt that his hair was too long."

According to Ming Pao Weekly, Tsang called Musette Tsang - his daughter with his second wife columnist and model Barbara Tang - on Tuesday evening (April 26), complaining of chest pain and said that he was hungry.

His son-in-law then had food and medicine sent to the hotel. The family said they did not know when the medicine and food reached him.

His daughter called him several times on Wednesday morning, but could not get him. She called the hotel staff, who said no one answered after they knocked on the door for about 15 minutes.

The Department of Health was alerted, with the police and paramedics arriving at the scene. They later informed Musette Tsang that her father had died.

She declined to comment further to the media, saying that the hotel, police and health authorities had done their best to help during the incident.

"There is no need to blame anyone on this matter," she said.

Kenneth Tsang's current wife, actress Lisa Chiao Chiao, 79, said in a statement late on Thursday that she needed some time to get over his death.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.