SINGAPORE - Local actor Shane Pow did not experience any heartbreak during his army days, but he felt like he was part of a break-up, thanks to his bunk mate.
The 22-year-old said: "My bunk mate and his girlfriend broke up and I was there throughout the whole process, giving him advice and cheering him on. I could feel what he was going through."
He added: "I even helped him text his girlfriend to scold her for breaking his heart. I felt that I was the one breaking up too."
The former 2011 Manhunt finalist, who was also attached when he was in the army, said that he did feel a little worried that he might get dumped as well, after seeing what his bunk mate went through.
Pow, who completed his national service last August, said: "Thankfully, my girlfriend and I are still together."
The MediaCorp artist, who is managed by Beam Artistes, will be seen in new local sitcom The Recruit Diaries.
In it, he plays a brawny but brainless recruit.
Filming a show about army life five months after he was discharged from national service was a big deja vu moment.
"I didn't expect to shave my head so quickly again as I don't think I look good botak (Malay for bald)," said Pow, a corporal (NS) in the army.
"Even though I'd already finished my two years of NS, I felt like I was serving army again as we kept going back to camp for three months to film the show."
For Pow, one of the most unforgettable army experiences happened when he was stationed on a hill buzzing with mosquitoes and sandflies for four days.
At 6pm, the area would become pitch black.
He said: "I ate too much on the first day and had a bad stomachache. I had to go to the bushes in the dark to 'do my business' and was busy trying to swat away the mosquitoes which were attacking me."
He added: "In the end, my entire butt was bitten and it was so itchy for the next three days, and I couldn't shower at all. The weather was very hot and I was very sweaty. I couldn't scratch my butt despite it being itchy. It was quite bad."
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