Man's head crushed by tipper truck

The tipper truck driver had just unloaded his cargo of sand at the storage facility when he went to the side of the vehicle.

Unfortunately, his head got caught between the truck's tipping body and the chassis, killing him.

The accident happened at about 10am last Thursday at KSL Engineering at Tampines Road.

The company installs traffic lights, and the storage facility is used to store construction materials.

A Ministry of Manpower (MOM) spokesman told The New Paper that officers from MOM's occupational safety and health inspectorate investigated the accident after receiving a call.

Preliminary findings show that the driver had his head caught between a fixed ladder attached to the truck's tipping body and the chassis. The accident happened when the tipping body was being lowered onto the chassis.

The driver, a Chinese national in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics.

INVESTIGATING

The MOM spokesman said they are investigating the accident with the police.

An SCDF spokesman said they received a call at about 10.20am and sent an ambulance to the scene.

An accounts executive with KSL Engineering, who gave her name only as Ms Mary, said the driver works for a sub-contractor engaged by the company.

She said: "They are supposed to clear the mud from our store.

"When we install traffic lights, we need to clear the mud from the surroundings and we ask a sub-contractor to help us clear the mud."

Last month, Acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan-Jin highlighted his concerns at the spate of accidents happening at construction sites.

The issue was also raised in Parliament last week where Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Hawazi Daipi said MOM will step up safety enforcement measures in view of the spike in construction site deaths.

Measures include reviewing its demerit point system and barring contractors who fail to improve their safety records from hiring foreign workers.

In the last month alone, nine workers died in accidents at construction sites.

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