Father of 1-Altitude security officer: Why was pit not covered?

When he found out that his 26-year-old son had died after falling into a deep pit in a high-rise rooftop bar, he went to the scene of the accident.

What Mr Tung Kim Swee, 64, saw there made him question the circumstances leading to the death of his son, Mr Shaun Tung, a part-time security officer at 1-Altitude on the roof of the 63rd storey of One Raffles Place.

Speaking to The New Paper at his son's wake yesterday, Mr Tung said: "When I was there, it was dark and I could not see the hole until it was pointed out to me."

When he looked into the pit, he said he saw metal bars at the bottom.

And he wanted to know why such a dangerous pit had been left uncovered.

"I asked my son's colleagues why the hole was not covered, but nobody could give me an answer. They were all stunned," Mr Tung said.

He said one of his son's colleagues had gone to his family home in Sengkang early on Sunday to inform him of the tragedy, and later took him to 1-Altitude when he wanted to see the scene.

While he was there, bar staff told him that his son's duty that night was to ensure customers do not enter a viewing point that had been cordoned off with retractable barricades and tables.

Later that night, the younger Mr Tung saw two customers entering the barricaded area from the other end.

As he moved towards them to tell them to leave, he did not notice the 4m-deep pit and fell in.

He was pronounced dead by paramedics at the scene early on Sunday. The police said they were alerted to a case of unnatural death at about 1.30am.

The Ministry of Manpower(MOM) told The New Paper on Monday that the area had been cordoned off for exterior building cleaning works.

Mr Tung, who is semi-retired, said he was told the pit was left open throughout the bar's operating hours, and bar staff used tables to make the barrier more visible.

When TNP contacted 1-Altitude and MOM yesterday about the accident, they declined to further comment, citing the ongoing investigations.

However, the 1-Altitude management said they were in direct contact with the family and were offering as much support as possible.

A&P Maintenance Services, the main contractor for the cleaning works, could not be reached for comment.

The younger Mr Tung, who was married with a two-year-old son, was a responsible and hard-working father, his family said.

As his Filipino wife, Madam Gaycee Buton, 32, and their son live in the Philippines, he would fly there to visit them regularly.

He was in the process of completing a diploma in sports coaching at Republic Polytechnic while balancing his full-time job as a personal trainer in a gym, his father said.

He started working part-time at 1-Altitude about a year ago to earn extra money to support his wife and son.

Mr Tung said his son was active and loved sports.

He said: "When I learnt what had happened to Shaun, I was stunned. My son is tough and active. How could something like this happen to him?"

His daughter, Ms Rebecca Tung, 30, a flight stewardess, said the family is seeking answers for what they perceive as safety lapses that had led to her brother's death.

Like her father, she asked: "Why was the hole left open without any concerns for safety?" She added: "My brother takes pride in everything he does. But this was not worth dying for."

His mother, Madam Chan Lian Poh, 59, believes it was her son's sense of responsibility that led to his death.

Choking up, she said: "If he was not responsible, he would not have gone over to try to stop them, and they could have died instead."