Construction worker who died had plans to get married this year
After dedicating more than five years to his work in Singapore, construction worker Aridosalu Arulraj finally realised his dream of building a home for his family in Tamil Nadu last August. With aspirations of getting married this year, his future seemed bright.
Tragically, Mr Arulraj died after he was struck in the chest by the hose of a concrete pump truck at the worksite of a Housing Board Build-To-Order (BTO) project in Tengah. The incident happened at about 8.40pm on Jan 2.
Mr Arulraj was carrying out casting work when one of the outriggers of the concrete pump truck, which deposits concrete used in construction, punctured the concrete ground it was sitting on.
This caused the machine to tilt, and the pump hose to strike the worker, said the Ministry of Manpower, which is investigating the incident.
In response to queries, HDB said the worker was taken to Gleneagles Hospital in Napier Road, where he died from his injuries.
After a funeral on Jan 4, Mr Arulraj’s body was flown back to Tamil Nadu on Jan 6, and cremated the same day in his hometown of Mudikandanallur, in the Nagapattinam district.
In the wake of the tragedy, friends of Mr Arulraj shared heartfelt memories with Tabla, expressing their sorrow for his parents, who are both farmers. Mr Arulraj was the first in his family to venture abroad in search of a better life, they said.
Mr K Prabhakaran, 30, a childhood friend of Arulraj, is still grappling with the loss of his friend. “I’ve known Arul since we were five; both of us were from the same village. I’ve been working in Singapore for the past two years, but I saw Arul here only on Dec 29. It was a wonderful surprise to discover he was also here.
“I invited him to join me for church that evening, and he told me about the house he bought for his parents and his plans to get married. Later, we went to Tekka because he wanted to buy pooja items for Thaipusam. We planned to meet again on Jan 5.
“I never imagined that the next time I’d see him, he would be in a casket at a funeral. This is all very difficult to move on from.”
Mr S Thiliban, who works in the service sector and knew Mr Arulraj for several years, paid tribute to his friend, saying, “Arul was a remarkable individual who came up in life through sheer hard work.
“As the only male child in the family, he took on the responsibility of caring for his parents. He always treated everyone with respect.”
Mr Arulraj was employed by Keong Hong Construction, a subsidiary of mainboard-listed Keong Hong Holdings. The company was awarded a $293.7 million contract in January 2024 to build the 1,010-unit Plantation Edge I and II BTO project.
Keong Hong said Mr Arulraj had been with the company since 2019, and it is in contact with his family and providing them with support, including financial.
Operations at the Tengah worksite have since been halted, pending the outcome of investigations.
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