PUBLISHED ONSeptember 30, 2025 4:54 AMBYBhavya RawatA 57-year-old man involved in a chain collision along the Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2022 was found to have been killed by a foreign metal object discharged from a defective Takata airbag.
It was stated in a coroner's court on Monday (Sept 29) that this is the first death in Singapore involving the airbag, which has a defect that may cause metal shrapnel to be ejected when deployed, CNA reported.
Over the past decade, more than 100 million vehicles fitted with Takata airbag inflators have been recalled worldwide, including 67 million in the United States, reported Reuters in 2024.
To date, in Singapore, 198,800 vehicles with the airbag issue have been recalled, with a completion rate of 94 per cent, the court heard.
Michael Ong was driving along the SLE at about 8am on Oct 10, 2022 when he got into in a chain collision involving six cars.
His vehicle, fifth in the collision, had an impact with the car ahead that was "quite extensive". Of all the vehicles involved, only Ong's airbags were deployed, reported CNA
Ong was taken unconscious to hospital in traumatic arrest and was pronounced dead later that morning.
An autopsy discovered a penetrating injury to his head by a metal object, measuring 1.5cm in length and 2.2cm in diameter. It is believed to have broken off from an object that remained in the airbag and exited at an upward angle, reported CNA.
The inquiry into Ong's death was fixed for another hearing at a later date.
Ng Lok Yee, a principal engineer with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) who testified in the hearing on Monday, said that Ong's vehicle was within the chassis number range of the recall by Honda Japan, CNA reported.
Ng was working in LTA's Vehicle Safety and Control Division.
Kah Motor, the main distributor of Honda cars in Singapore, reportedly stated that the firm did not have the recall history of Ong's car, as they did not sell it.
LTA's record showed that the vehicle Ong was driving was registered in March 2009 and was imported and sold by parallel importer company Hong Sin Motors.
However, Ong's widow's counsel stated that he had not purchased the car directly from Hong Sin, as it had "passed a few hands", reported CNA.
Hong Sin Motors has been reportedly defunct since 2017. It did not notify LTA about the recall and did not report the recall exercise for Ong's vehicle.
Ng said that LTA adopts a "balanced approach" by ensuring that recall notices are sent to vehicle owners after dealers confirm they are affected. Vehicle owners who have received recall notifications from their dealers should contact their motor dealer, who will advise on rectification and interim measures.
Failure to comply with a recall order is an offence under the Road Traffic Act, Ng added.
Earlier this year, France ordered an extra 800,000 cars with Takata airbags to be taken off the road, Reuters reported.
This comes two weeks after a woman died in the northeastern town of Reims from injuries related to a faulty airbag.
The woman died after she was struck by a metal piece expelled by an airbag that was ejected from her 2014 Citroen C3 following an accident, the Reims prosecutor's office said.
Citing the incident, French transport minister Philippe Tabarot said that all cars with the technology should be recalled, no matter how old they were.
The move is the latest twist in the auto industry's biggest-ever product recall, eight years after the company at the centre of the crisis — Japan's Takata Corp — filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and Japan.
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bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
