The Ministry of Manpower said in a statement that the Managing Director of Le Fong Building Services Pte Ltd, William Lim, was called up by them to account for a serious workplace accident.
A worker had fallen more than 8 metres through a roof after the sunlight panel that he was stepping on had broken.
MOM inspected the site and found unsafe work practices that led to the accident, and Lim was called up to personally account for the lapses to MOM.
MOM’s statement
[Heightened Safety – Managing Director accounts to MOM]
MOM called up the Managing Director of Le Fong Building Services Pte Ltd, Mr William Lim, to account for a serious workplace accident and major safety lapses found at the worksite.
The workplace accident on 1 Sep 2022 involved a worker who fell more than 8m through a roof after the skylight panel he stepped on broke. He was fortunate to survive the serious fall, but sustained multiple bodily injuries, and is still warded in hospital.
MOM inspected the worksite and found unsafe work practices that directly contributed to the accident and posed imminent danger to other workers. As a result, Le Fong was ordered to stop all work at height activities across its worksites.
In line with new Heightened Safety measures, Mr Lim had to turn up personally and account to MOM.
Mr Lim acknowledged the company’s failure to implement a proper system to address safety hazards from working at height. He will need to ensure that rectification actions are carried out and a robust workplace safety and health system put in place before the Stop Work Order is lifted. Le Fong has been debarred from employing new foreign employees for 3 months.
Company leaders are in the best position to set a positive culture and shape safety practices on the ground. MOM urges company leaders to subscribe to the Workplace Safety and Health Council’s WSH Alerts (go.gov.sg/wshalerts), to incorporate lessons from past accidents. All company leaders must pay utmost attention to workplace safety and health.
#safetyfirst#heightenedsafety
[Photo caption: Persons facing the camera are MOM officers from the Occupational Safety and Health Division.]