SINGAPORE - Despite having no formal training on how to operate an excavator, the director of a construction waste disposal company hopped into one to move it out of the way of a worker unloading waste from a skip bin truck.
But while Kasi Seenivasan, 58, was operating the excavator, it struck the worker who was standing near the truck, causing him to hit his head and resulting in his death.
For committing a negligent act at work that endangered the safety of others, Kasi, a Singapore permanent resident, was jailed for six months and two weeks on Monday (March 28).
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a statement on Tuesday that the director of SKN Transport and Services faced two other charges that were taken into consideration during sentencing.
One was for failing to ensure the safety of the worker as the director of SKN and the other was for hiring the deceased worker illegally.
MOM's investigations found that Kasi was not equipped with the skills to handle an excavator safely.
But after his company purchased one in September 2018, he would operate it on his own within his company premises in Jalan Papan in Jurong.
While training courses on how to operate excavators are available, Kasi learnt to operate the machine by observing how others did it, court documents said.
The fatal accident occurred on March 1, 2019, some time after 6.10pm.
The deceased worker, Mr Cabrieal Edwin Jayakumar, who was illegally employed by SKN as a truck driver, was driving a skip bin truck at the company premises to offload some hardcore waste, which consists of construction waste, bricks, tiles, rocks and gravel.
But at the place where the skip bin was to be emptied, the skip bin's door was blocked by an excavator parked nearby.
Kasi tried to move the excavator out of the way but ended up hitting Mr Jayakumar, who was standing near the left rear side of the truck.
The worker was taken to National University Hospital, where he died the next day. The cause of death was certified as a head injury.
MOM's prosecutor said Kasi had operated the excavator in an unsafe manner as he had failed to keep a proper lookout and appreciate the turning radius of the excavator, causing it to hit Mr Jayakumar.
On Tuesday, MOM's director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, Mr Sebastian Tan, said the accident could have been prevented if a trained worker had operated the excavator instead.
Mr Tan added: "Kasi's negligence shows a complete lack of focus on workers' safety. MOM would like to remind all stakeholders to ensure vehicles and machinery are operated only by trained personnel, to prevent further occurrences of such accidents."
For committing a negligent act at work that endangered the safety or health of himself or others, Kasi could have been jailed for up to two years, fined up to $30,000, or both.
