Trio charged following death of ship crew member who was allegedly given unsafe breathing mask

SINGAPORE – Three Vietnamese men are facing multiple charges linked to the death of a crew member of a ship who was allegedly told to enter a tank that was not gas-free on May 14, 2024.

The trio are also accused of lying to the police about the incident.

All the men were crew members of a Vietnam-registered chemical tanker called GT Win that was in the vicinity of Raffles Reserved Anchorage.

On May 16, 2025, Dao Tien Manh, 31, was charged with performing a rash act that led to the death of Mr Hoang Van Chau and endangered the lives of three other crew members.

Manh was also charged with giving false information to a police officer.

Le Thanh Dung, 36, was charged with one count each of performing a rash act that endangered the lives of others and giving false information to the police.

Nguyen Duc Nghi, 49, was charged with one count each of lying to a police officer and performing an act that could obstruct the course of justice.

According to court documents, Dung was on board the GT Win between 2pm and 4.40pm on May 14, 2024, when he allegedly modified two self-contained breathing apparatus masks for four crew members – Mr Chau and three others – to use for entering the tanks on board the vessel.

Dung purportedly knew that it was not safe to use such modified devices to enter the tanks.

That same day, Manh allegedly instructed Mr Chau’s three colleagues to use the modified apparatus and enter the tanks, which were not gas-free at the time.

Manh is accused of instructing Mr Chau to use the apparatus and enter Tank 4 at around 4.40pm, even though it was not gas-free.

The court heard that Mr Chau later died after he was exposed to volatile hydrocarbons. His cause of death was not disclosed in court documents, which also did not state how the masks were purportedly modified.

Nghi allegedly told the other crew members to lie to the police by stating that the incident involving Mr Chau took place in Tank 6 and not Tank 4.

Court documents did not say why the Tank 6 decision was allegedly taken.

Nghi is also accused of getting rid of the mask that Mr Chau used by throwing it into the sea.

Nghi was on board the tanker shortly before 7pm on May 14, 2024, when he allegedly lied to a police officer, claiming that Mr Chau had been deployed to clean Tank 6 before the man was purportedly found unconscious inside it.

Dung and Manh were in different interview rooms at the Police Cantonment Complex two days later when they allegedly told similar lies.

The cases involving Nghi and Manh will be mentioned again in court in late May.

According to a State Courts online portal, Dung is expected to plead guilty on May 30.