SINGAPORE – A manufacturer of metal tins and containers was charged on Thursday (July 16) for failing to ensure the safety and health of two of its employees, resulting in their deaths in separate incidents over a period of six months.
The company, M.C. Packaging, faces two counts of failing to conduct and implement adequate risk assessments and safe work procedures at its factory at 159 Gul Circle under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
Meanwhile, its former factory manager, Hew Poh Leong, 48, who was earlier charged with failing to carry out his duty, resulting in both fatal incidents, pleaded guilty on Thursday (July 16) and was fined $1,900.
The two employees were identified in court documents as Chinese national Wang Meifang, 33, and Singaporean See Ley Heo, 53.
On the morning of June 16, 2016, Ms Wang and a co-worker were cleaning and sanitising a palletiser machine when she became caught between the frames of the machine.
She was extricated and sent to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), but died from her injuries on the same day.
Investigations later revealed that one of the machine’s mechanical frames was in a lowered position due to an air leakage, which allowed Ms Wang to enter a space between the frames.
Meanwhile, a co-worker who was on the lower floor of the machine turned on a compressed air gun to blow out dust from parts of the palletiser.
As pressure built up, one of the mechanical frames moved upwards and trapped Ms Wang in the machine.
While the company had conducted a risk assessment for work activities involving the palletisers, it did not identify the risk of persons being caught in between the machine’s mechanical parts during cleaning works, said Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Lee Kui Bao.
The inadequate risk assessment was approved by Hew, who was then factory manager.
Hew also failed to inform workers of the company’s established safe work procedures, and allowed Ms Wang and the co-worker to work unsupervised at the time of the incident, said the MOM prosecutor.
About half a year later on Dec 26, 2016, another fatal incident occurred at the factory when Ms See was struck by a reversing forklift while walking across the production floor on her way for a lunch break.
She was sent to NTFGH , but died of her injuries two days later.
The court heard that the company, despite having four to five forklift accidents before the incident, failed to review its safe work procedures and had an inadequate risk assessment of the use of forklifts.
M.C. Packaging had also developed a traffic management plan a year before the incident but did not implement it fully.
Hew failed to bring this up to the management of the company “as he was of the view that (they) would not approve the full implementation” of the plan, said Mr Lee.
In a statement on Thursday, MOM said the families of both deceased workers have each received compensation of around $200,000 from the work injury insurer.
If convicted of failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees, M.C. Packaging could be fined up to $500,000.
