Singapore Government Press Release
Media Division
Ministry of Information and The Arts
36th Storey, PSA Building, 460 Alexandra Road, Singapore 119963
Tel: 3757794/5
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MINSTRY OF LABOUR
CONTRACTOR CHARGED FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE SAFE MEANS OF ACCESS TO AND FROM A WORKPLACE -
SUB-CONTRACTOR ALSO CHARGED FOR UNSAFE SCAFFOLD
ITI Homemaker Pte Ltd and the managing partner (Mr Pang Kim Chua) of its sub-contractor, Peak-Der Contractor, were charged in Court on 12 Mar 97. ITI Homemaker Pte Ltd pleaded guilty to the charge of failing to provide and maintain safe means of access to and from the workplace resulting in the death of one person. The company was fined a total of $35,000. (The maximum fine for the death of one person is $50,000).
Mr Pang Kim Chua, managing partner of the sub-contractor, Peak-Der Contractor, also pleaded guilty to charges of erecting timber scaffolds at the worksite which did not comply with the requirements of the law. Peak-Der Contractor had only erected a single row of timber scaffolds which was more than 15 metres high at the worksite. The law requires at least two rows of timber scaffolds to be erected if the height exceeds 15 metres. Peak-Der Contractor had also used wires to secure the timber scaffold to the building. This was unsafe and it contravened the law which prohibits the use of wires to bind scaffolds together. Peak-Der Contractor's other charge of not notifying the Chief Inspector of Factories prior to the erection of the timber scaffolds was also taken into consideration. Mr Pang Kim Chua, managing partner of Peak-Der Contractor was fined a total of $10,000.
On 2 Jul 96 at about 9.00 am, a fatal accident involving a worker, Lim Chin Sai (deceased) occurred at a worksite at No. 12 Kallang Sector, Singapore 349281. ITI Homemaker Pte Ltd had been engaged to paint the exterior wall of the 12-storey flatted building. Lim Chin Sai was an employee of ITI Homemakers Pte Ltd.
2 On the day of the accident, the deceased and two other workers went to the rooftop of the factory building to prepare the paint for the painting work. The deceased then took a barrel of paint and walked along the ledge of the building to reach the place where the paint job was to be done i.e. the exterior wall of the building. Not long after, his co-workers heard him shout and discovered his body lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the building.
3 The Department of Industrial Safety's investigations revealed that the deceased had to walk along an open-sided ledge that was only 32 cm wide to gain access to and from the exterior wall of the building. Safe means from the ledge to the exterior wall of the building where the deceased had to work was not provided.
4 The investigations also revealed that timber scaffolds comprising a single row of standards i.e. the vertical supporting components of the scaffolds were erected along the facade of the building (ITI Homemaker had engaged Peak-Der Contractors to erect the timber scaffolds around the building). The height of the timber scaffolds had exceeded the legal limit of 15 metres. For such a height, the law requires at least two rows of standards to be erected. This is to ensure the stability of the scaffold and allow proper work platforms to be secured onto the scaffold. The timber scaffolds were also secured to the building using wire which was not acceptable as they can be easily severed. Instead, solid poles of timber scaffolds should have been used to bind the timber scaffolds together.
5 In 1996, there were 54 workers killed at construction worksites. Twenty-eight of the deaths resulted from falling from height. Many of these accidents could have been prevented if the workers had been provided with a safe place of work and safe means of access to and from the workplace. Scaffolds should be designed to take the load they are intended to carry and should also be erected by trained scaffolders. Work platforms on such scaffolds must be properly secured and be of adequate strength and width.
6 The Ministry takes a serious view of contractors who constantly flout safety rules and will not hesitate to take them to Court. If the condition in the worksite is found to be grossly unsafe, the work at the worksite will be stopped.
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