©2004
Fann Wong Singapore
| 2004 |
NKF CHARITY SHOW A case of no pain, no gain? ONE star suffered angry red bruises all over his back. Another injured his shoulders. Yet another literally bled. All for the sake of the charity dollar. It's nothing new, television viewers say. If fact, it's something we've come to expect of our charity shows. Last night, the second part of the National Kidney Foundation's (NKF) Charity Show was no different. Stars from MediaCorp took turns to perform stunts and, in the process, suffer for the sake of charity. Melody Chen had a sprained waist from carrying her co-performers around. Terence Cao injured his shoulder in an item where a team of six actors - including Jeff Wang and Nick Shen - had to rappel down four storeys and create formations while suspended in mid-air by harnesses. Christopher Lee had angry red bruises all over his back, after being suspended in mid-air by 25 suctions cups attached to his body. Tay Ping Hui suffered numerous nail pricks when he had to lie on a bed of nails with granite slabs on top of him, which were then smashed with a hammer. And Zoe Tay performed a game of paper cone switcheroo with a sharp twist. Knives had been hidden under some of the paper cones, and it was up to the star to remember which cones had knives under them, and which didn't. Once she made her decision, she had to smash the cones she believed to be empty, with her bare palms. The actress apparently made a mistake during a rehearsal on Saturday night. BLEEDING In a taped segment, the star was shown bleeding from her palm when she apparently smashed the wrong cone during the rehearsal. And, last night, Zoe came close to jabbing herself a second time, when she lost track of the cone-switching. She decided to hold back as she was not confident of the knife's position. Speaking to reporters at the post-show reception, Zoe said: 'I really couldn't remember where it was. And there was no point in going ahead with no confidence, I didn't want anything to happen. It would be bad for the organisers, they don't want us to get hurt too.' She eventually succeeded in her quest on her second try. Brushing off her injury, Zoe said that it was not a deep cut as she had reacted fast. Said Zoe: 'Thank goodness the paper is of a thick material... It's hard to crush the cones and thus I have more reaction time. The moment I felt the tip of the blade, I withdrew my hand immediately.' Last night's stars weren't the only ones who suffered. Last weekend, singer Ho Yeow Sun had small red punctures over her back when she became a human dartboard, while Sharon Au suffered small cuts on her hands after climbing a ladder of knives. As they had in the past, the stunts once again raised the question of whether safety was compromised and whether they were, well, cutting it a bit too close for comfort. Mother of three Margaret Wong was so disturbed over last week's show that she e-mailed The New Paper. She said: 'It was disgusting and unneccessary. NKF has already three years' reserves in the bank. Why the need to be so desperate? Are the organisers running out of ideas?' TOO VIOLENT When contacted last night, Madam Wong said that she only made one donation call this year in protest at the stunts she felt was too violent. 'The Fann Wong and Qi Yuwu item (where they had to walk on a square steel frame suspended a few storeys above ground) was acceptable because there were safety harnesses to catch them even if they fall. 'But Zoe's item and the nails one (Ping Hui's item) were too violent. Anything that can cause harm to the body I feel is not necessary at all.' Instead, the most entertaining performance to Madam Wong was the one where Gurmit Singh and Mark Lee played musical horns complete with funny actions. Ms Hilary Ong, 26, a civil servant, also felt that the horn music segment was more fun than the stunts. She said: 'I'm a bit immune to their yearly stunts actually. It's dangerous but, like what the station says, they won't do it unless it's safe, so I'm not worried about their safety.' However, there are others who prefer the dangerous stuff. Housewife Madam Heng Sai Tiang, 58, said: 'Although I think they did go a bit far with the stunts, I still enjoyed them.' Not that dangerous, says stuntman
THEY are definitely controversial. But are the stunts as dangerous as they appear to be? We spoke to an ex-stuntsman Mr Tan (he declined to reveal his real name for obvious reasons), who has had more than 30 years' experience, and the answer is no. Mr Tan himself has tried the stunt that Ho Yeow Sun performed last week. And, according to him, the needles of the darts used are less than 5mm long. So while it might have been painful when the darts went in, the wounds wouldn't be serious. He also shrugged off Sharon Au's stunt of climbing a ladder of knives as a gimmick. 'If the knives were really that sharp, how could she have gripped them and still not be cut? The knives were probably sharp at both ends but blunt in the middle.' Mr Tan said the wire harness Sharon was wearing could be supporting her weight, thus making her climb easier. As for Tay Ping Hui and Michelle Chong's performance, where they had granite slabs smashed on top of them, Mr Tan said it was all a matter of holding one's breath during the blow. He also said that the bed of 7,200 nails that Ping Hui laid on was not as painful as it seems. 'With so many nails close together, the weight is supported evenly,' he said. Source: The New Paper |
