SINGAPORE — A landscaping company was fined S$220,000 on Wednesday (Aug 14) over a workplace accident that severely burnt three foreign workers, who were tasked with cleaning an underground water tank.

The tank, a 3.2m-deep confined space that is accessible only through manholes, exploded and blew one of the workers out of a manhole.

It was the first time that Environmental Landscape Pte Ltd was building an underground water tank, and the firm did not think to conduct any tests to assess ventilation levels, as well as the levels of flammable or toxic gas or vapour.

The company and its director Wong Shang Ling, 58, were charged with failing to take measures necessary to ensure the safety and health of its employees at work, while the workers’ supervisor Hossan Billal, 33, was charged with negligence that endangered the safety of his workers.

The cases for Hossan and Wong are still before the courts.

Prosecutors from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Mr Mohd Rizal Ali and Mr Lee Kui Bao, said that the company failed to conduct a risk assessment for the work activities related to the cleaning of the tank, and failed to develop safe work procedures for these activities.

It also failed to ensure that the employees had enough instruction, information, training and supervision that were necessary for them to perform the cleaning tasks.

These were required under the Workplace Safety and Health Act, with the company being subject to a fine of up to S$500,000 for violating the laws.

The prosecutors added that even the workers’ supervisor received no training in supervising works to be carried out in a confined space.

The workers thus did not know enough about the hazards and risks associated with working in that environment, such as oxygen deficiency or enrichment, built-up of flammable gas or toxic gases — all factors that could lead to an explosion.

WHAT HAPPENED

The court heard that Wong, the company director, had gone into the tank many times before the explosion, but left without any incident.

The tank was located at a farm owned and operated by the company at 131 Lorong Semangka in Sungei Tengah. It was meant to collect rainwater to water plants. 

On July 25, 2016, when Mr Rahman Mohammad Ataur, a Bangladeshi national who was then 21, went down to clean the tank, his act of switching on a socket extension to turn on a floodlight sparked an explosion. 

The impact was so strong that it blasted his co-worker, Mr Uddin Mohammad Riaz who was standing on a ladder, right out of the manhole.

Mr Uddin then had to run and dive into a nearby pond to douse the burning sensations on his body.

In the tank with Mr Rahman was another co-worker Miah Sobuj.

Despite being momentarily overwhelmed by the fire, the two managed to climb out of the confined space using a ladder that other workers later lowered into the manhole.

Mr Miah and Mr Rahman’s burn injuries were so severe that their combined medical bills at Singapore General Hospital (SGH) amounted to about S$867,000. 

The nationalities and ages of Mr Miah and Mr Uddin, and the extent of their injuries, were not stated in court documents.

It was only revealed that as compensation for their injuries, Mr Miah received S$56,273.32 and Mr Uddin, S$4,094.84.

Mr Rahman’s trauma was previously reported by the media after non-governmental organisation Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics held a crowdfunding campaign for him while his work injury compensation of S$137,451.30 was still being processed.

He suffered third-degree burns on 73 per cent of his body, including his face, and he was in a coma for three months.

It was reported that apart from getting skin grafting for his upper body and fingers, he underwent surgery for his corneas because the blast hurt his eyes, and he needed reconstruction surgery for his nose, lips, eyelids, ears and eyebrows.

The court heard that Mr Rahman’s injuries were so serious that Environmental Landscape had to hire a caregiver to help him with his daily needs such as bathing and feeding for three months after he was discharged from SGH on Dec 2, 2016.

All three workers had since left Singapore.

‘BLATANT DISREGARD FOR SAFETY’

Mr Fazal Mohamed Abdul Karim, the lawyer for the company, sought a S$50,000 fine, noting that his client is a small firm in a “difficult competitive industry with many manpower constraints”. He pointed out that its director and workers worked hard, “literally working 365 days” to keep the company afloat, and would like to get a lighter fine so that it could rebuild its business again.

“To push the company to the brink of winding up will not reverse the situation,” he said.

District Judge Carol Ling, however, saw fit to impose a S$220,000 penalty, which the company would pay through 20 instalments until May 2, 2021.

Following the sentencing, MOM issued a press release. Mr Sebastian Tan, the ministry’s director of occupational safety and health inspectorate, said: “The company had endangered the lives of its workers by requiring them to perform a high-risk job without any training, instruction, safety equipment or emergency rescue system. 

“This blatant disregard for workplace safety and health is unacceptable. We will continue to press for high fines against employers who knowingly put their workers at risk.”

Wong will return to court on Sept 16, while Hossan’s case is set for a pre-trial conference on Sept 13.