SINGAPORE - Two men accused of lapses that led to a security officer’s fatal fall in 2019 were given a discharge amounting to an acquittal on Tuesday.

This means Mr Ong Han Peng and Mr Rodney Yeo Kuang Hsing, both 51, cannot be charged again with the same offences under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Mr Shaun Tung Mun Hon, 26, died of a head injury after he fell into a 4m-deep pit at the 1-Altitude rooftop bar, which was then located at One Raffles Place, a 63-storey building.

Mr Yeo was a director at OUB Centre at the time of Mr Tung’s death on June 9, 2019.

He had been accused of failing to ensure that the opening was covered or guarded by effective barriers to prevent a fall.

At the time of the alleged offences, Mr Ong was the chief executive and managing director of restaurant and bar operator Synergyinthesky.

He was accused of failing to adequately consider the hazards created by the floor opening and implementing the relevant risk control measures.

Meanwhile, two men were charged on March 28 over alleged safety lapses that led to the tragedy.

Philip Lim Keng Liang, 42, and Suresh Kumar Shanmugam, 60, were each handed one charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

At the time of the tragedy, Suresh was a freelance facade cleaning worker at One Raffles Place.

He is accused of failing to reinstate some floor slabs, which he and other workers had allegedly removed on the 63rd storey of the building to access a gondola pit, leaving behind the opening in the floor.

Lim was an operations manager at A&P Maintenance Services at the time.

He allegedly failed to take adequate steps to address the risk of people falling into the opening of the gondola pit at the bar at One Raffles Place.

Separately, Mr Teo Eng Hua, 62, who was also accused of lapses that led to Mr Tung’s death, was given a similar discharge on March 2 after his charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act was withdrawn.

Mr Teo, who is a senior operations manager at housekeeping, conservancy and cleaning contractor A&P Maintenance Services, had been accused of failing to take adequate steps to address the risks posed by the floor opening.

The cases involving Lim, Suresh, A&P Maintenance Services, Synergyinthesky and property developer OUB Centre are pending.

During a coroner’s inquiry in 2020, the court heard that the opening where Mr Tung fell through had been uncovered by workers tasked with cleaning the building’s facade.

He was shown the pit and briefed about it before he started his shift at the alfresco bar on the day of the fall.

Barricades and warning signs had been erected on the second floor of the nightspot, where the pit opening was located, to prevent guests from entering the area.

Then State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam, however, noted that the barricades could be pushed aside and the area around the pit was not illuminated.

Mr Tung spotted two men, who were not identified, entering the cordoned-off area at around 1.30am on that day.

He ran towards them while shining his torch to warn them, but failed to spot the pit himself and fell into it.

Paramedics pronounced Mr Tung dead at the scene.

State Coroner Kamala said in August 2020 that the accident could have been avoided if safety standards had been observed.