AN INDIAN national was run over by a forklift when he was sleeping in the middle of a poorly-lit open yard area, a coroner's court heard.

Marine trades worker Ramasamy Dhanavendhan, 30, employed by Red Lotus Marine Services, was working at Jurong Shipyard at the time of the incident on June 23, 2006.

At a coroner's inquiry on Thursday into his death, the court heard that Mr Ramasamy was having supper with his three colleagues at the Tanjong Kling Road premises in Jurong at about 11.15pm that night.

About 15 minutes later, they decided to take a rest. While his colleagues stayed put at the place where they had supper, Mr Ramasamy proceeded to rest in the open area about 2m away.

At about midnight, the three colleagues were awakened when they heard a loud scream. They saw that a forklift had run over Mr Ramsamy while le was lying down.

He died about an hour later of multiple injuries.

Investigation officer Jimmy Kong from Jurong Police Division said the forklift driver, Mr Md Nurul Islam Md Allauddin, now 42, did not see anyone when he was tasked to place concrete bricks in the area.

The senior staff sergeant also said Ministry of Manpower investigation showed that the accident occurred because Mr Ramasamy, who was wearing dark clothing, had chosen to sleep in an operational area instead of designated rest areas contrary to the yard's instructions.

State Coroner Victor Yeo recorded a verdict of misadventure.