Worker acquitted of causing Indian-origin colleague’s death in Singapore

SINGAPORE: A 44-year-old machine operator from Bangladesh was acquitted in Singapore of causing the death of an Indian-origin worker in 2020, a media report said.

Uttom was charged with endangering the safety of workers by committing a negligent act, which led to the death of Karuppaiah Selvaraj, The Straits Times newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The court heard that Uttom was operating a shear machine at a plant at 11 Shipyard Crescent on February 24, 2020 when the accident occurred.

On January 2, Uttom was given a discharge amounting to an acquittal, meaning he cannot be charged with the same offence again.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in a media alert last year that it has fined Kim Hock Corp, a company that processes scrap metal for overseas export, SG$240,000 over Karuppaiah’s death.

According to the ministry, Karuppaiah was observing the shear machine before the accident, while Uttom was operating it via a mobile panel.

“When prompted to activate the machine, Uttom wrongly pressed a button that instead caused the machine’s door to pin (Mr Karuppaiah) against the machine,” the MOM had said in the alert issued in November 2023.

While Karuppaiah was pronounced dead at the scene by a paramedic, MOM’s investigations revealed that Kim Hock Corp failed to establish adequate safe work procedures to control the risks posed to employees.

It also noted that the company failed to ensure that all employees performing maintenance works on the machine were provided with the right training and instructions beforehand.