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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Greatearth Construction Pte Ltd pleaded guilty in Court on 25 Mar 98 for causing the death of a worker under the Factories Act. The company was fined $35,000 (Maximum $50,000 for causing death of worker) for failing to put up an effective barrier along the open side of the building to prevent persons from falling.

2 The accident occurred on 20 Feb 97 at the worksite at the junction of Holland Road/Taman Nakhoda, Singapore 250000. The project involved the construction of two apartment blocks. Greatearth Construction Pte Ltd was the occupier of the site.

3 At the time of the accident, Ramasamy Muthu (the deceased) was transferring a bundle of reinforcement bar spacers from the ground floor to the 7^th storey of the building under construction. As he was going down the staircase, he tripped over the reinforcement bars that were laid on the floor of the 7^th storey. He fell and rolled over the edge of the building and landed on a platform four floors below. He subsequently died from injuries sustained in the fall.

4 Investigation by the Ministry’s Department of Industrial Safety revealed that there were no effective barriers to guard the open side of the building where the deceased fell from.