SMRT Trains fined S$240,000 after death of technical officer in 2020 at Bishan Depot

SMRT Trains was fined S$240,000 on Monday (May 5) over an accident that caused the death of a technical officer in 2020 at Bishan Depot.

The rail operator company was convicted of an offence under the Workplace Safety and Health Act pertaining to its failure to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety and health of its employees, CNA and The Straits Times reported.

The charge carries a maximum fine of S$1 million.

What happened

On March 2020, Muhammad Afiq bin Senawi, 30, had been operating a hydraulic press machine at the rolling stock workshop, where the maintenance of trains and their component parts is conducted.

While he was operating the machine, a spacer rod shot out, breached the fencing around the machine and hit him in the face.

Afiq was conveyed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries and passed away.

Hazard of spacer rod displacing

SMRT admitted it had not put in place a pressure gauge after the machine was disassembled for repair, despite this being a safety measure stated in the machine's operating manual.

According to ST, the machine's pressure gauge was indicated as damaged in 2018.

An engineering maintenance manager had instructed it to be dismantled, but he later overlooked its reinstallation.

Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Kimberly Boo on May 5 told the court that the space rod was not secured to any other component.

She also noted that a gauge would give an indication of any disproportionate increase in force when the machine was in operation.

SMRT also did not limit the maximum operating pressure of the machine. The machine exceeded the pressure needed for the task performed on the day of the incident.

"Extreme scenario"

According to CNA, the SMRT defence counsel during the sentencing argument said that the incident reflected an "extreme scenario" for when the possible safeguards were not in place, and not a result of a disregard for safety.

She said that SMRT had a track record of operating the hydraulic press machine for more than 20 years without incident, and that the rail operator company had remained free of workplace accidents in the last five years.

She also said that SMRT's workplace injury rate was lower than the average in Singapore's transport and logistics industry.

"Pattern" of offending

However according to CNA, Boo pointed out that SMRT had five workplace safety convictions between 2010 and 2020, which she characterised as a "pattern" of offending.

These included a S$400,000 fine following the death of two workers who were hit by a train in March 2016, and a S$230,00 fine for a December 2018 incident that resulted in the amputation of a worker's leg.

In his sentencing, Senior District Judge Ong Hian Sun said that he took SMRT's previous related convictions into consideration when imposing the fine.

He also said it was necessary for the company and its staff to take initiative in identifying and addressing safety risks.

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Top image via SMRT/Facebook