Machine operator acquitted of causing colleague’s death in 2020 accident
A Bangladeshi machine operator was acquitted on Jan 2 of causing the death of a fellow worker in 2020.
Mr Uttom, 44, who goes by one name, had been charged with endangering the safety of workers nearby by committing a negligent act while operating a shear machine at a plant at 11 Shipyard Crescent on Feb 24, 2020.
He was said to have pressed a button on the machine’s mobile panel, causing its sizing door to close while the workers were carrying out maintenance work.
His action was previously said to have caused the death of Mr Karuppaiah Selvaraj.
On Jan 2, Mr Uttom, who was represented by Ms Tan Su and Mr Yip Jian Yang, was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal, meaning he cannot be charged with the same offence again.
In a media alert in November 2023, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) had said that Kim Hock Corp, a company that processes scrap metal for overseas export, had been fined $240,000 on Oct 13, 2023, over Mr Karuppaiah’s death.
According to the ministry, Mr Karuppaiah was observing the machine before the accident, while Mr Uttom was operating it via a mobile panel.
Noting then that Mr Uttom’s case was ongoing, MOM said: “When prompted to activate the machine, Uttom wrongly pressed a button that instead caused the machine’s door to pin (Mr Karuppaiah) against the machine.”
Mr Karuppaiah was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic.
MOM’s investigations had revealed that Kim Hock Corp had failed to establish adequate safe work procedures to control the risks posed to employees when performing maintenance works on the machine.
“In particular, the procedures implemented were not aligned with what was required in the machine’s manual, such as ensuring the machine was de-energised and locked out before approaching it,” the ministry said.
It also found that the company had failed to ensure that all employees performing maintenance works on the machine were provided with adequate training and instruction beforehand.
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