Worker dies after falling through opening in floor

A worker died on Aug 3 after falling through an opening in the floor on the second storey of a building where he was carrying out addition and alteration works.

The 32-year-old Bangladeshi died just a month after work at 605 MacPherson Road had resumed, following a suspension during the circuit breaker period.

He had removed wooden planks covering the opening when he fell through it and landed on the first storey.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force was alerted at 8.45am.

The worker was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital where he died from his injuries.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) told The New Paper that the man was an employee of Siong Construction and Engineering.

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MOM said the occupier of the worksite is G.T.H. Engineering and Construction and the developer is Wujie Times Square.

All structural works at the site have stopped and investigations are ongoing.

The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said it had approved the builder's application to resume work at the project site on July 5.

Worksites must be deemed Covid-safe and receive BCA's approval before construction activity can resume.

The location of the fatal incident is the address of the eight-storey, 110-unit Citimac Industrial Complex.

The freehold redevelopment site was sold to a previously unnamed foreign developer for $430.1 million in a collective sale in 2017.

RISK ASSESSMENT

Last Wednesday, the Workplace Safety and Health Council reminded industry players, via a bulletin, to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment before starting addition and alteration works.

Floor openings must be identified, securely covered or guarded, and the area should be clearly demarcated or barricaded to prevent unauthorised access. Warning signs should also be put up to alert workers of a fall hazard.

There have been at least 18 workplace fatalities this year, two of them Singaporeans.

There were 39 workplace deaths recorded last year and the workplace fatality rate fell to 1.1 for every 100,000 workers, the lowest since 2004 when records were first compiled.