TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese comedian Sandra Chen (陳俊甫) died on Monday (April 15) at age 38 after a long battle with an autoimmune disease.

Chen, who is best known for imitating the Japanese cartoon character Gudetama, an anthropomorphic egg yolk, on the variety show “Crazy God," was pronounced dead on Monday morning, reported SET News. Chen's father confirmed that his son had passed due to complications from a preexisting health condition. 

“Let's let him go peacefully. We won't hold a farewell ceremony for him," he said.

Other family members revealed that Chen had not recovered from a cold last week. They said he was admitted to a hospital and diagnosed with pneumonia, developed septic shock, and died at 11 a.m. on Monday. 

In an interview with “CtiHealthyme” on Monday, Chen was shown discussing his 14-year journey fighting lupus erythematosus. During the 2020 Lunar New Year, he contracted the flu and stopped taking immunosuppressive drugs, believing this would allow his immune system to fight the virus more effectively. 

However, his condition worsened, as he experienced seizures and required hospitalization. The flu virus had spread to his brain before he was ultimately able to recover.

Chen also revealed on the show that he had contracted sepsis caused by Salmonella, leading to over a month of hospitalization. He had to rely on medication to clear the bacteria from his blood.

However, with an excessive amount of pathogens in his bloodstream, he exclaimed, "I almost left!" After experiencing this ordeal multiple times, he reflected, "I really dare not stop taking medication indiscriminately."

Battling lupus erythematosus, Chen said he had come to terms with life and death. He said he was prepared for the worst. 

Chen said that if his health deteriorated further, he wished for friends to bring him sashimi. He said he wanted to enjoy a delicacy he could not normally eat at the end of his life.