38-year-old man killed in Tuas fire is 46th workplace fatality in 2022

SINGAPORE - A 38-year-old Indian national who died in a fire in 21 Tuas Avenue 3 on Friday (Dec 30) is the 46th workplace fatality in 2022.

On Saturday, The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that preliminary investigation suggests that the fire, which occurred at 9.25am, was triggered by the uncontrolled release of acetylene, which is a flammable gas, from cylinders in the premise.

The fire was brought under control at about 9.50am and another worker who was injured - a 43-year-old Chinese national - was conscious when he was taken to the Singapore General Hospital.

MOM said that they have instructed employer and occupier Asia Technical Gas Co to stop all work activities in relation to the checking and maintenance of flammable gas cylinders.

It added: "When dealing with gas cylinders that contains flammable gases, measures must to put in place to prevent any accumulation of such gases as well as ensuring that the work environment is free from ignition sources."

The accident occurred three days after the last workplace fatal accident. Mr Ely Chow, 31, was killed after he was struck and pinned down by a machine that toppled while being moved by a forklift at 601 Rifle Range Road.

After his accident, Mr Chow's family called for more to be done to address workplace safety following the number of workplace deaths here. The 46 workplace deaths so far in 2022 is the highest number recorded since 2016 when 66 people died.

MOM said employers are reminded that safety must be their top priority and those with major safety lapses will be held accountable and may face financial penalties, stop work orders, foreign manpower restrictions and prosecution.

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After a spate of work-related deaths and injuries earlier in 2022, MOM imposed a six-month heightened safety period from Sept 1, with companies possibly being barred from hiring foreign workers if serious safety lapses are found following an accident.

On Saturday, MOM said under this period, more companies are paying greater attention to workplace safety but there continue to be segments that perform poorly and need to step up.

To date, 11 companies have been debarred from employing new foreign workers for fatal and major accidents, and their chief executive officers and directors had to personally account for the accidents and ensure that safety lapses at their workplaces were rectified.

The companies are Lefong Building Services, Green Recycling, Nakano Singapore, Pacific Trans, Plant General Services, Home Cleanz Cleaning & Laundry Services, Penta Landscape, Woh Hup, Soil-Build, Seng Yew Scaffolding and Engineering, and China Construction Realty.

Workers and members of the public can report any unsafe practices observed to MOM at mom.gov.sg/report-wsh-issues or by calling 6438-5122.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.