Fans and friends pay tribute to actor

He was a healthy and active guy who took part in charity football matches.

So when singer-actor Ashmi Roslan died suddenly on Wednesday - a week after he had been hospitalised for a heart attack - his family and friends were shocked.

He was 34 and leaves behind his parents and four brothers.

At the Alkhair Mosque in Teck Whye Crescent yesterday afternoon, family and friends gathered for a prayer session for him.

His girlfriend, actor-host Syirah Jusni, 26, told Life! that he had suffered a sudden heart attack last Wednesday and was admitted to Singapore General Hospital for two nights.

After his discharge, he recuperated at his aunt's flat in Bukit Panjang. However, on Wednesday evening, Syirah found him lying unconscious in the toilet, face down in a pool of blood.

He was rushed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10.50pm.

Said Syirah: "We think he hit his head and died from loss of blood. Among the medication he had taken was a blood thinner."

Blood thinners are common medication for heart patients - they reduce the risk of heart attack and work by cutting down the formation of blood clots in arteries and veins.

Syirah said no one had expected Ashmi to have a heart attack. "He had always been active and healthy and played in charity football matches."

Among those who turned up for the prayer session was Malaysian actor Iqram Dinzly. Said the 34-year-old: "Ashmi was always jovial and happy-go-lucky. We even had plans to catch up after he had recovered. His death was a shock to all of us.

Added Syirah: "He will always be in my heart, mind and prayers. If he could see the prayers and love everyone has for him, I'm sure his heart would have swelled with joy."

In a post on its Facebook page, MediaCorp's Suria TV channel expressed its condolences and described him as an artiste "with great talent".

It said Ashmi got his big break in the 2006 season of reality talent show Anugerah Skrin.

More recently, he appeared in the charity show Projek Kasih and acted in the melodrama Jalan Ampas - airing on Suria and also starring Fizah Nizam and Hashimah Hamidon.

Ashmi's friends - many of whom are in the entertainment industry - and fans have been posting tributes to him on social media.

According to previous newspaper reports, he and fellow Suria artist Fadhlur Rahman own a food stall, Makan.sg in Circuit Road. Together with Suria artists Nurul Aini and Khairudin Samsudin, they also started Studio Cafe Sg in Toa Payoh last year.

Studio Cafe Sg serves local and Western fare, such as nasi goreng ayam penyet and sirloin steak.

The cafe posted on its Facebook page in the early hours of yesterday: "To our friend, business partner and brother Ashmi Roslan. You will be truly missed."

This article was first published on June 12, 2015.
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