High Court dismisses appeal against six months' jail by engineer who failed to check PIE viaduct plans

Leong Sow Hon was the accredited checker for the construction of the viaduct. PHOTOS: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - An engineer who failed in his duty to check the plans and perform calculations for key support structures used in the construction of a Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) viaduct lost his appeal against a six-month jail term on Thursday (Oct 29).

In his appeal for a fine, Leong Sow Hon, 62, submitted an expert's report stating that the errors in the plans he approved would have been picked up by others prior to any collapse.

High Court judge Aedit Abdullah rejected the argument. He pointed to the 2004 Nicoll Highway collapse, saying it occurred despite there having been warning signs because those signs had not been picked up by all the parties involved.

Justice Aedit said: "An important factor in the legislative framework of safety laws is to ensure that each and every step is indeed taken to protect safety, so that a perfect storm of errors is avoided.

"Arguing that others would have picked up on problems one is supposed to have addressed oneself cannot be a basis for reducing the harm engendered on the facts."

Leong was the accredited checker for the construction of the 1.8km-long viaduct from the Tampines Expressway to the PIE and Upper Changi Road East.

Under building regulations, his duty was to evaluate the plans to determine if "key structural elements" such as foundations and columns are adequate.

On July 14, 2017, temporary structures at part of the viaduct gave way, causing the death of one worker and injuring 10 others.

Following the collapse, which did not implicate Leong, the calculations for the whole structure were checked.

An investigation found that eight support structures known as permanent corbels were inadequately designed: Five would have collapsed during the construction stage and three would have collapsed under a full traffic load.

Leong initially lied that he had done the calculations and checked the plans but confessed two months later, after he was unable to provide evidence of the calculations.

He was among five people charged over the incident.

In June 2019, he pleaded guilty to a charge under the Building Control Act for failing to check the structural plans and perform calculations.

One count of falsely certifying he had carried out the required checks was considered when a district judge sentenced him to six months' jail.

Leong appealed, arguing that the sentence was excessive.

On Thursday, Justice Aedit said six months' jail was "on the considerably shorter side" after setting out a sentencing framework for such offences, which carry a fine of up to $100,000 and a maximum jail of two years.

The framework consists of a matrix to determine an indicative starting point based on the level of harm and the level of culpability of the offence. The starting point is then adjusted according to factors specific to the offender.

In Leong's case, the judge found the level of culpability was medium because he failed to perform independent calculations and failed to check the work of his subordinates.

The harm created by Leong's offences was high, said the judge.

"The potential harm engendered included not only potential death or injury to persons, but also potential damage to essential public infrastructure," he added.

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