2 more men charged over alleged safety lapses leading to fatal fall at 1-Altitude rooftop bar
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A part-time security officer died after falling into a 4m-deep pit near 1-Altitude in June 2019.
PHOTO: REBECCA TUNG
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SINGAPORE - Two more men were charged on Tuesday over alleged safety lapses that led to the death of a security officer
Philip Lim Keng Liang, 42, and Suresh Kumar Shanmugam, 60, were each handed one charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
The two Singaporeans are accused of committing the offences on or before June 9, 2019.
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 a floor opening that people could fall through.
Lim was an operations manager at housekeeping, conservancy and cleaning contractor A&P Maintenance Services at the time.
According to court documents, he allegedly failed to take adequate steps to address the risk of people falling into the uncovered floor opening of the gondola pit at the bar at One Raffles Place, a 63-storey building.
Their cases have been adjourned to April 18.
Part-time security officer Shaun Tung Mun Hon, 26, died of a head injury after he fell into a 4m-deep pit at the bar on June 9, 2019.
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.
But the then State Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam noted 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. He ran towards them while shining his torch to warn them but failed to spot the pit himself and fell into it.
Paramedics later pronounced him dead at the scene.
Mr Shaun Tung Mun Hon died of a head injury after he fell into a 4m-deep pit at 1-Altitude on June 9, 2019.
PHOTO: REBECCA TUNG
Then State Coroner Kamala had earlier said the accident could have been avoided if safety standards had been observed.
In March 2020, three firms and three men were hauled to court
Two of them are property developer OUB Centre and Rodney Yeo Kuang Hsing, 51, who was one of its directors at the time of the tragedy.
Also charged were restaurant and bar operator Synergyinthesky and Ong Han Peng, 51, identified as its chief executive and managing director at the time.
The last two are A&P Maintenance Services and its senior operations manager, Mr Teo Eng Hua, 62.
In March 2023, Mr Teo’s charge under the Workplace Safety and Health Act was withdrawn.
He was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal. This means he cannot be charged again with the same offence. The reasons behind this move were not disclosed in court.
The cases involving the other alleged offenders are pending.
