KUCHING – Mr Chai Aixiang, the younger brother of the late Taiwan-based Malaysian singer Eison Chai, died on Monday, aged 40.

Their sister Sandra Chai broke the news on social media on Tuesday.

His death came barely a year after Eison Chai, who was older by a year and also went by the name Ai Cheng, died on Aug 17, 2022, after falling from a building in New Taipei City.

Ms Chai had first hinted about Chai Aixiang’s death on Facebook early on Tuesday, writing in Chinese: “Why? Why? Why! How to accept it?”

She later posted two photos of his wake in Kuching, Malaysia, writing that Chai died of myocardial infarction (heart attack) on Monday afternoon, leaving behind his wife and a daughter.

The funeral is scheduled to be held on Thursday morning. It is not clear what he did for a living.

According to Taiwan’s Next Apple News, Chai had gone to a workshop to retrieve his car on Monday, when he started coughing suddenly and became out of breath.

The workshop owner gave Chai a glass of water as he sat down to rest. He then stood up and walked a few steps after drinking, before falling and losing consciousness.

Taiwanese actress Hitomi Wang, the widow of Eison Chai, reacted to her brother-in-law’s death on Facebook, writing: “Thank you everyone for your concern. I was shocked and unable to accept it when I received the news, as I felt the grieving pain again.”

Wang, 36, said she was most worried about her parents-in-law and urged the public to give the family space and time to grieve.