SINGAPORE: A 35-year-old worker died in a forklift accident at a Housing Board project site at Keat Hong Link on Thursday (Jul 7), bringing the total number of workplace fatalities this year to 29.
The Indian national was standing on the rear counterweight of a forklift while tying an electrical cable onto the side of an overhead beam when the forklift moved backwards suddenly.
He was caught between the forklift’s canopy and the beam, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in response to CNA’s queries on Friday.
The man, who was employed by Mega Engineering, was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, where he later died.
MOM said that as a general safety measure, forklifts should only be used for “its intended purposes”.
It is investigating the accident and has instructed the occupier Teambuild Engineering & Construction to stop all works at the worksite.
Companies that have been issued with stop-work orders or have had major injuries will be required to engage external auditors to conduct a thorough review of their processes.
There were 28 workplace deaths in the first six months of this year, compared to 17 in the same period in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in response to parliamentary questions on Monday.
Harsher penalties for companies with poor workplace safety and health performance kicked in last month.
The composition fine for offences observed during MOM inspections was doubled from S$1,000 to S$2,000 on average, up to a maximum sum of S$5,000 from June.
In May, MOM, the WSH Council, National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and industry partners called on companies to conduct a safety time-out amid the “worrying spate” of workplace fatalities across various industries.
Safety time-outs typically involve taking a pause in work for senior management to engage workers and unions in reinforcing workplace safety and health processes, and to act on any issues raised.