(Manila, PHL) - The father of Philippine pop star Charice has been stabbed to death with an ice pick in a drunken street fight, police said Tuesday, as the singer cancelled an overseas tour to be with her family.
Construction worker Ricky Pempengco, 39, was stabbed repeatedly late Monday after an altercation with another drinker in a street in an agricultural town south of Manila, police said.
"They bumped into each other and from there, they got into a fight," said local police chief Senior Superintendent Gilbert Cruz.
Police are still searching for the suspect in the killing, he added.
The 19-year-old singer, famous under her first name, mourned her father in a post on Twitter and said they had been close until her parents separated when she was a young child, and the children stayed with their mother.
"We had a really great relationship before all the trouble started... I loved him and I will still love him. He's still my dad after all," she said in the tweet.
Philippine media have widely reported that her father's violent and abusive behaviour led to the family breakup.
Charice, who had been touring in Singapore with hit-making producer David Foster, said she would be pulling out of the concerts to be with her family in the Philippines.
Charice rose to international fame through performances posted on YouTube, eventually appearing on major US television shows such as the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the Oprah Winfrey Show and the musical series Glee.
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