Taiwanese singer-songwriter and record producer Yuan Wei-jen (袁惟仁), also known as “Xiao Pang Lao Shi” (Little Fat Teacher), yesterday died at the age of 57, his family said.
“Thank you to all the friends who cared for and supported Xiao Pang. He left this world surrounded by your warmth,” his family said in a statement.
Yuan had a brain hemorrhage and fell into a coma after collapsing in Shanghai in 2018. He was later diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery, after which he spent extended periods recuperating in Taitung County.
Photo: Taipei Times file photo
In 2020, Yuan was again hospitalized in intensive care after another fall at his home in Taitung. He slipped into a coma and was bedridden ever since.
Yuan passed away at about 10am, Taitung Mackay Memorial Hospital said.
His family has since taken his body home and are making funeral arrangements.
Yuan’s second eldest sister, Yuan Ai-chen (袁藹珍), said in a message posted on record producer Chen Tzu-hung’s (陳子鴻) Facebook page that Yuan passed away peacefully and was finally free.
“We will bring him back to Taipei to be buried alongside our father, in a place with mountains and water that he knew well,” she wrote.
Yuan Wei-jen left behind a rich musical legacy, she said.
When people miss him, they can listen to his songs — while driving, when sad or when at peace, she said.
“He is everywhere,” she added.
Yuan Wei-jen was previously married to actress Lu Yuan-chi (陸 元琪) for 14 years. The couple divorced in 2016.
When Yuan Wei-jen collapsed in Shanghai, Lu traveled from Taiwan with their two children to visit him, local media reports said at the time.
After Yuan returned to Taitung for long-term care and was later assessed to be in a vegetative state, the primary caregiving responsibility was borne by his second eldest sister, while Lu and the children continued to express their concern quietly through several means, reports said.
Lu, speaking through her manager, said she learned of Yuan Wei-jen’s death at about noon yesterday and asked the media to respect her privacy and that of her children as the family makes the funeral arrangements.
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