Engineer says he deleted messages, photo from his phone and dead worker's

Days after a blast at a Tuas workshop killed three workers in February, the project engineer of the company deleted messages and a picture of a damaged machine from both his mobile phone and one of his dead colleague's.

Mr Lwin Moe Tun, 31, who is employed by Stars Engrg, was the fifth worker to testify yesterday before an inquiry committee looking into the cause and circumstances of the blast.

Seven workers were injured and three workers were killed in the Feb 24 blast at the Stars Engrg workshop at 32E Tuas Avenue 11.

Mr Subbaiyan Marimuthu, 38, Mr Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Mr Shohel Md, 23, died from severe burns that covered 90 per cent of their bodies.

Mr Lwin Moe Tun was not in the workshop when the explosion occurred.

Yesterday, the Myanmar national said Mr Marimuthu had sent him a photo at 11.13am, minutes before the blast. It showed a damaged heater still on the mixer machine with green taping around the heater's wiring.

The first message that Mr Lwin Moe Tun sent was at 11.32am and read: "OK let me know ASAP."

He said he sent this to Mr Marimuthu as he thought that the worker was going to check the damaged heater.

The second message, sent by Mr Lwin Moe Tun to Mr Marimuthu at 12.09pm, contained an expletive.

Stars Engrg made an insulation material called fire wrap using the mixer machine. The machine heated up oil in a jacket, which then heated and mixed ingredients, including potato starch.

It had caught fire earlier in the morning of Feb 24, which prompted Mr Marimuthu to alert Mr Lwin Moe Tun to the damaged heater.

Mr Lwin Moe Tun testified that he had Mr Marimuthu's phone because it was handed to him at the Tuas site by an officer after the blast. It was not specified where the officer was from.

He added that he turned on the phone on Feb 26, hoping to find the contact number of Mr Marimuthu's brother because another worker had said he wanted to contact him. "I then came across the messages and photos that I had already deleted from my phone," said Mr Lwin Moe Tun.

He said he did not initially mention deleting the messages and the picture to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) officers as he was trying to recover them using software he bought.

"In the end, I was unable to retrieve them. I told the MOM investigators I had made the above deletions only during my second interview with them on April 13," he said.

Earlier yesterday, the inquiry committee heard the testimonies of four workers injured in the blast - two from Stars Engrg, and two from another company in a neighbouring unit.

Stars Engrg worker Rahad Asfaquzzaman, 30, said he had been flung 2m by the force of the explosion and the traumatic events continue to give him nightmares.

"After the explosion, I got up and realised I was burning. My shirt had burned off, leaving only some cloth around my neck and my pants. I immediately tore what was left of my shirt off from my body," said the Bangladeshi national. "I saw that my body had burned black and there was blood coming out from my mouth."

Mr Rahad, who was standing just under the front shutters of the workshop during the blast, added: "I am unable to produce tears when I cry and when I am under the sun, everything I see is a blur."

The other worker, Mr Ahmmed Lizon, 27, also a Bangladeshi national, was partially under the platform which held the mixer machine at the time of the blast.

"I suddenly felt as if something very hot had fallen on the back of my neck. I felt a really hot feeling all over my head, face, the back of my neck, and my hands and legs. The heat was particularly intense on the back of my neck," he said.

Both Stars Engrg workers continue to receive outpatient care for their burn injuries.

The remaining two injured workers, Mr Miah Md Azam, 36, and Mr Zhao Jian Wang, 43, were treated at Ng Teng Fong General Hospital for their burn injuries.

The hearing continues today, with Mr Lwin Moe Tun being cross-examined.