ACTOR'S COURAGE RECALLED\Ngor praised for devotion to homeland.

Byline: David Bloom Daily News Staff Writer

Slain Oscar winner Dr. Haing S. Ngor, a survivor of Cambodia's killing fields whose unlikely acting success financed his humanitarian efforts to rebuild his country, was remembered at his funeral Friday for his optimism and courage in the face of horror and death.

"I think the fact that he continued to trust and work and remained hopeful and playful must give us hope," said actor Sam Waterston at the funeral in Lincoln Heights, attended by more than 350 Cambodian former refugees, local politicians and movie industry friends. "His life said that caring is a victorious answer to hate and loss."

Waterston played opposite Ngor in "The Killing Fields," the 1984 movie that brought world attention to the deaths by starvation, execution and torture of an estimated 2 million Cambodians at the hands of the communist Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1978.

Ngor won the 1984 Academy Award for best supporting actor for his portrayal of fellow countryman Dith Pran's ordeal in the killing fields and eventual escape to Thailand.

"I will miss him forever and I wish he will live in peace," said Dith, now a New York Times photographer who became Ngor's close friend during the shooting of the movie. "We will continue his mission and our mission to bring goodwill and let the world know about the atrocities and the situation in Cambodia."

For Ngor, the movie role had been no act. He had gone through much the same wrenching horror as Dith during the killing fields, losing his pregnant wife and parents, and raising his niece, Sophia Ngim Ngor, when the Khmer Rouge killed her family.

"He's the most important person in my life," said Sophia Ngor, her sobs repeatedly interrupting her speech. "After my parents were killed, my uncle stepped into my life and raised me as a daughter. He was father, mother, friend, uncle, everything. I will miss him so much."

Speakers said Ngor used much of the money he received for his acting, speeches and book royalties to buy medical supplies, books and other materials to be shipped to his devastated home country.

"We have lost the most famous Cambodian-American in modern history, who used his fame not to gain wealth and power, but to help his country and to mobilize opposition to the Khmer Rouge," said Tith Sovann, executive director of the United Cambodian Community in Long Beach.

Ngor was shot to death Feb. 25 as he stepped out of his 10-year-old Mercedes-Benz sedan outside his modest two-bedroom apartment on a hillside near Chinatown.

Though several speakers at Ngor's funeral called the killing "an assassination" because of his high-profile opposition to the Khmer Rouge, police investigators said there is no evidence to support that.

"I'd be more apt not to call it an assassination," said Los Angeles Police Lt. Al Moen. Investigators have yet to firmly establish a motive, but a failed robbery attempt is a more likely reason, Moen said.

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Photo (1) A mourner views the body of Cambodian actor-activist Haing Ngor at Friday's funeral. (2) Haing Ngor's niece, Sophia Ngim Ngor, tells how he reared her after her parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge. (3) Actor Sam Waterston spoke at the funeral. (4) Family members bow before Haing Ngor's remains at the conclusion of the funeral in Lincoln Heights. Evan Yee/Daily News