Construction Company Fined S$200,000 Over Death Of Worker At Tuas Factory
Hai Leck Engineering & Construction, the construction company that employed the worker who was crushed to death by a steel beam in Tuas, has been fined S$200,000.
The fatal workplace accident in Oct 2020 involved a 560kg steel beam that fell on and crushed 39-year-old lifting supervisor Murugan, killing him on the spot.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao
At the time, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) ordered the company to temporarily stop all loading, unloading, and delivery works.
Since then, authorities have found them to be in violation of workplace safety and health regulations, leading to the fine.
Construction company didn’t take adequate safety measures
While Hai Leck Engineering & Construction had conducted a risk assessment for the structural engineering project, the prosecution found that they did not implement appropriate risk control measures, Lianhe Zaobao reported.
Source: Google Maps
Measures included using suitable transport vehicles and securing equipment.
This meant that Hai Leck Engineering & Construction failed to adequately ensure the stability of the load that Murugan and his colleagues were delivering.
Furthermore, the company had not established proper safety procedures or provided adequate guidance and information to its employees.
As such, the company received a S$200,000 fine on Monday (10 July).
560kg steel beams were secured by only 3 ropes
The accident that took Murugan’s life occurred at a factory along Tuas West Road.
His task that day was to deliver materials to the construction site, which included five N-type steel beams and angle iron.
After a discussion, the site supervisor reportedly instructed Murugan to load the materials onto the lorry loader.
Murugan then supervised the forklift driver in transferring the materials from the storage area there.
The steel beams weighed 560kg each. As they could not be stacked together, the workers loaded them in an upright position onto the lorry loader.
Thereafter, they secured the materials using three ropes.
While the lorry loader was heading towards the factory entrance, the site supervisor allegedly noticed that the first steel beam on the left had tilted.
The driver then stopped, and Murugan suggested untying the ropes and using the forklift to unload the beam from the loader.
Worker died of severe injuries to head, ribs & heart
However, as Murugan was untying the ropes, the rightmost steel frame became unstable and fell, falling directly on him.
Meanwhile, another colleague who was assisting him managed to jump away, narrowly avoiding the same fate.
The impact severely injured Murugan’s head, ribs, and heart, causing him to die on the spot.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) received a distress call at 11.30am that day. Paramedics later pronounced Murugan dead at the scene.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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