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THREE days after a cage fencing on a school's air-conditioning compressor was reported to be shaky, the whole structure fell on a woman who died five days later of head injuries.
Madam Chan Mei Ying, 44, was a stand-in librarian at Manjusri Secondary School at Sims Drive when the accident happened last September.
A coroner's court heard that she had gone there to turn on the lever as the remote control of the air-con did not work.
The school's clerk, Ms Jennifer Ong Poh Hong, 40, found the cage shaky when she and Madam Chan went to shut off the air-con compressor last Sept 7.
Ms Ong told the administrative manager about it, and also wrote to the operations manager, who was on leave.
Shortly after Madam Chan reported for work at about 7.45am on Sept 10, she took the keys and went to shut the compressor behind the library block.
About an half an hour later, the school received a call from a member of the public that someone had 'fainted' at the back of the school.
A cleaner of the school saw Madam Chan lying on her back with the cage on top of her chest. It took three people to lift the cage.
Madam Chan was slightly responsive and semi-conscious, and was bleeding from one ear. She was taken to hospital where she died five days later.
After the incident, the operation manager, Mr Lai Sow Hung, 55, engaged a school contractor to repair the cage.
Investigation showed that the cage, installed more than eight years ago, was last maintained on Sept 5.
Two corroded screws were found at the scene.
State Coroner Victor Yeo recorded a verdict of misadventure on Madam Chan's death.
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