Engineer fined $50,000 for certifying scissor lifts without checks

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Jul 19, 2019 06:00 am

A professional engineer and authorised examiner (AE) for lifting equipment (LE) was fined $50,000 on June 24 for failing to exercise due diligence in certifying 14 scissor lifts for use.

Tan Juay Pah, 61, was convicted of five charges under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, and 10 other charges were taken into consideration for sentencing.

Between March and October 2016, Tan issued 15 LE certificates for 14 scissor lifts. However, he did not examine nor test any of the equipment and even certified one scissor lift twice.

The certificates were then issued to the owners of the scissor lifts who distributed copies to their respective lessees. One of the lessees received a copy of the certificate. However, his scissor lift was never examined by Tan, and he reported the case to the Manpower Ministry. Other lessees also confirmed that no examinations were carried out by any AE on the scissor lifts before they received the certificates.

Scissor lifts are used to provide a safe means of access for workers carrying out work-at-height activities. - LAKEISHA LEO