SINGAPORE - Yeng Pway Ngon, one of Singapore’s most eminent Chinese-language writers, died on Sunday (Jan 10) after a long battle with cancer.
The Cultural Medallion recipient and three-time Singapore Literature Prize winner was 16 days shy of his 74th birthday.
He wrote more than 20 works, including acclaimed novels such as Unrest (2002), Trivialities About Me And Myself (2006) and Art Studio (2011).
The latter two were selected by the journal Asia Weekly for its prestigious annual list of the 10 Best Chinese Novels in the World, alongside works by Nobel laureate Mo Yan and Yan Geling.
Yeng had been battling prostate cancer since 2007 and was later also diagnosed with colon cancer. In May last year, doctors discovered cancer in his pancreas. He underwent surgery to remove it, but later fell sick from unstable blood sugar levels. By last month, the cancer had spread to his entire body.