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Actor Thomas Ong fractures ankle during solo Japan holiday, drives himself to hospital despite pain

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

While photographing Urami Taki waterfall in the rain, Thomas Ong slipped and fractured his right ankle, though he initially assumed it was merely a sprain. After driving himself to a local Japanese medical facility for an X-ray, he declined a procedure involving a metal plate and chose to recuperate without a cast. Now staying with family in Singapore, Ong has six weeks to recover before leading a European tour group on Dec. 7. The accident followed other travel troubles, including losing his wallet and dropping his phone into water.

Key points

  • The actor has returned to Singapore to recover with family ahead of an upcoming tour assi…: The actor has returned to Singapore to recover with family ahead of an upcoming tour assignment in Europe.
  • The six-week natural recovery timeline still permits Ong to lead his scheduled travel gro…: The six-week natural recovery timeline still permits Ong to lead his scheduled travel group starting on Dec. 7.
  • Ong intends to visit Japan again next year despite enduring lost belongings and water dam…: Ong intends to visit Japan again next year despite enduring lost belongings and water damage to his phone.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The 57-year-old actor, who also lost his wallet and dropped his mobile phone into water during the trip, joked that his souvenirs from Japan this time were a pair of crutches.

What was supposed to be a 45-day solo adventure in Japan turned into quite the eventful trip for Singaporean actor Thomas Ong.

The 57-year-old, who set off on a self-drive holiday in Japan last month, had to cut his trip short after fracturing his right ankle on Oct 25, just over 10 days into his holiday.

Ong had planned to explore the remote mountainous regions of Honshu, spending his days chasing waterfalls. His travels took him to places such as Kashiwazaki in Niigata Prefecture, Fukuroda Falls and Otsujigataki Falls.

According to Lianhe Zaobao, Ong slipped on a flight of wet stone steps after photographing a waterfall. He had earlier shared that Urami Taki was the last waterfall he photographed before his trip was cut short.

It had been drizzling that day. "At first, I thought it was just a sprain. I didn't expect the injury to be more serious…

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