Tanjong Katong sinkhole incident: Construction firm charged, PUB and Surbana Jurong Consultants given conditional warnings
The incident occurred on July 25, 2025, at about 5.50pm.
PHOTO: AsiaOne/Jasper Lim
PUBLISHED ONJune 11, 2026 9:10 AMBYDana LeongA construction firm and its employees have been charged, while PUB and Surbana Jurong Consultants have been given conditional warnings for their involvement in the 2025 Tanjong Katong sinkhole incident.
In a joint press release on Thursday (June 11), the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA) said that they have completed their respective investigations into the incident.
The incident, which occurred next to a worksite along Tanjong Katong Road South on July 26 last year, resulted in a sinkhole that caused a car and its driver to fall into it.
The driver was rescued by workers and taken conscious to the hospital.
Road repairs and reinstatement work at the sinkhole took nine days to complete, with roads being reopened on Aug 4.
Licenced specialist builder Ohin Construction and six individuals were handed eight charges.
Those charged include Ohin's managing director Ong Khiaw Yang Ivan, project director Raajkumar Nadarajan and project manager Sellappan Saravanakumar.
Kee Chen Siang, Yau Tze Yin, and the resident engineer Senthilnathan Mathyalakan were also charged.
Their alleged offences include unauthorised and non-compliant works, licensing and supervisory failures and the lack of operational video surveillance systems at the worksite.
Additionally, PUB and Surbana Jurong Consultants were given conditional warnings for offences under the Building Control Act.
The joint statement said: "Works for this project remain halted till today. For works to resume, the new project parties to be appointed by PUB will have to submit new structural plans, which will be subjected to comprehensive safety assessments and approval by the BCA Commissioner of Building Control."
Following the incident, BCA conducted a thorough review of more than 60 similar ongoing projects and found no safety issues, with adequate safeguards in place across all projects.
PUB blacklists Ohin Construction
In a statement on the same day, PUB acknowledged the conditional warning and said that it takes the matter seriously.
PUB has since terminated its contract with Ohin Construction for the sewer laying project at Amber Road, Meyer Road and Playfair Road, and has blacklisted Ohin for 18 months since August last year.
Until the 18 months are completed, Ohin will not get any PUB projects.
"PUB will continue to work closely with the relevant agencies and stakeholders to ensure full compliance with its statutory obligations, and that the highest safety standards are upheld across its construction projects," it said.
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