$210k fine for construction firm over 2019 fatal accident at ACS in Barker Road
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H P Construction and Engineering was fined $210,000 after it was convicted of failing to ensure that the site was safe for everyone within it.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
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- A section of a wall at a worksite within the premises Anglo-Chinese School in Barker Road collapsed and bricks struck a construction worker on Nov 22, 2019.
- Bangladeshi Hossin Ripon, who was then working H P Construction & Engineering, died of a head injury two days later
- The company was fined $210,000 on Aug 26.
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SINGAPORE – A construction company failed in its duty to secure a wall at a worksite within the premises of Anglo-Chinese School (ACS) in Barker Road, and bricks fell onto a construction worker
H P Construction and Engineering (HPC) worker Hossin Ripon, 38, died of a head injury two days later.
On Aug 26, HPC was fined $210,000 after it was convicted of failing to ensure that the site was safe for everyone within it, an offence under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
The court heard that Mr Wong Fang Yih, who was working as a project manager at HPC at the time of the incident, was sentenced to six months’ jail in October 2024.
The Ministry of Education had earlier awarded a contract to HPC to carry out addition and alteration works for ACS at the Barker Road site, near Dunearn Road.
The works included the construction of an indoor sports hall each for ACS (Primary) and the ACS (Barker Road) Secondary schools.
The works started on May 9, 2019, and were expected to be completed by June 8, 2020.
Ministry of Manpower (MOM) prosecutor Khong Zi-Wei told the court that Mr Hossin, a Bangladeshi, was at the site on Nov 22, 2019, when he was tasked with cleaning works near a clock tower block.
He was alone in the area at around 10.40am when a section of the clock tower’s wall facade collapsed and falling bricks struck him.
His co-workers, who heard the commotion, went to the area and found Mr Hossin buried underneath a rubble.
He was rushed to Tan Tock Seng Hospital, but died two days later.
An investigation revealed that before the tragedy, Mr Wong was shown the “seriously defective condition” of two of the clock tower block’s brick walls.
However, he did not notify HPC of these defects nor in the brick wall facades at other areas.
Mr Khong said: “Apart from relying on updates from Wong, HPC did not implement any other system to ensure that it was aware of workplace safety and health risks at the workplace.
“At the time of the fatal incident, no measures were taken by HPC to address the safety risks... within the workplace.”
He added that this effectively created an unsafe working condition where the wall could potentially collapse, placing the safety of those working in the area at serious risk of harm.
Among other things, HPC had also negligently failed to carry out an assessment of the risks to the safety of persons within the workplace posed by the wall.
As a result of such negligence, HPC was unaware of the risks posed by the wall, and no measures were taken to eliminate or mitigate such risks, the court heard.
