Updated: 08/05/2013 17:30 | By Channel NewsAsia
SBS Transit fined for not conducting risk assessment that led to man's death
SINGAPORE: Transport operator SBS Transit was fined S$7,000 by a district court on Monday for failing to conduct a risk assessment at its North-East Line Depot at Sengkang East Avenue.
That failure led to the death of 55-year-old security officer Ong Yue Hing in March 2011. Mr Ong was crushed by a heavy steel gate that collapsed as he was trying to close it.
The gate, which was almost 10 metres long, weighed nearly 900 kilograms.
Mr Ong died in hospital a few hours after the accident.
SBS Transit pleaded guilty on July 29.
According to court documents, Mr Ong and a colleague had unknowingly pushed the gate beyond its normal stop point while trying to close it.
The gate had overshot the stop point because its motor and housing had been removed for repair in October 2010, prior to the incident.
The motor was equipped with a cut-off switch. Together with its housing, it would have acted as a physical stopper.
Without it, the momentum from pushing, together with the downward gradient of the road, caused the gate to topple.
It was also revealed that there was no outrigger which could have stopped the gate from toppling.
The court heard that SBS Transit had failed to conduct a risk assessment when the gate motor was removed.
The risk assessment would probably have identified the foreseeable risk of the gate toppling and appropriate safety measures could then have been taken.
The court also heard that SBS Transit was obligated to conduct a risk assessment in relation to the safety and health risks posed to any persons in the workplace.
SBS Transit could have been fined up to S$10,000 for the offence.
- CNA/fa
