SINGAPORE — The National Environment Agency (NEA) and two of its employees have been charged with workplace safety offences over a 2021 explosion at the Tuas Incineration Plant (TIP), which killed two men and injured one.
The charges, handed down on Dec 26, allege that NEA failed to take necessary measures to ensure the safety and health of its employees at work, contributing to the deaths of two of them, Kwok Yeow Wai and Wee Eng Leng.
The alleged failures of NEA also led to another employee, Low Yin Choon, being injured.
Christopher Lee Yew Binn, 50, divisional director of the waste infrastructure operations and management division of NEA at the time, and Ng Wah Yong, 54, then general manager of TIP, were also handed one charge each under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
In a Facebook post after the charging, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said she will be making a statement at the next Parliament sitting in January to address the incident and charges.
She said of the fatal explosion: "It was an extremely sad and painful incident for all of us in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment family. We continue to mourn the loss of our two colleagues."
The explosion at the plant in Tuas Avenue 20 happened on Sept 23, 2021, at about 3.15pm.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Attorney-General's Chambers said in a joint press release after the charging that the control room at the plant was unable to remotely switch off an industrial fan.
Kwok, Wee and Low were sent to troubleshoot the fault and were inside an electrical switch room when the blast occurred.
The three men, aged between 59 and 65, were all Singaporean. One of them was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two had burn injuries and were taken to hospital, where one of them died three days later.
NEA had said after the incident that all three staff were senior members of the plant’s electrical maintenance branch, each with more than 35 years in service.
According to charge sheets, NEA did not ensure that the permit-to-work system implemented for high voltage switchgear racking works complied with electrical installation regulations.
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The agency also allegedly failed to adequately implement control measures and establish safe work procedures for high voltage switchgear racking works.
Ng was also charged with failing to ensure the permit-to-work system complied with regulations, among other acts of negligence. Lee was charged with approving the permit-to-work system though it did not comply with regulations.
Court documents state the two men’s acts negligently endangered the safety of others at TIP without reasonable cause.
In a media statement after being charged, NEA said it would study the charges with its legal counsel.
Lee and Ng are still with NEA, and have been redeployed to non-operational roles pending the outcome of the proceedings.
NEA said the deaths of its two officers continue to be "deeply felt by the NEA community", and added the injured employee who suffered serious injuries has since recovered and returned to work.
"NEA has cooperated fully with MOM during investigations into the incident. As the matter is now before the Court, we are unable to comment further," it added.
The TIP was decommissioned in 2022, with a new TuasOne plant taking over its operations.
The explosion had prompted labour MP Melvin Yong to call for a safety time-out, as he described an alarming rise in workplace accidents and deaths that year.
There were 37 work-related deaths in 2021, compared with 30 in 2020.
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Yong, the National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general, had urged all companies to work with labour unions to train safe management officers to become dedicated workplace safety and health representatives.
NEA is represented by Senior Counsel Jason Chan of Allen and Gledhill, while Laura Yeo and Stephania Wong of Rajah and Tann represent Lee and Ng, respectively.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Agnes Chan said in court on Dec 26 that the prosecution was ready for plea.
But lawyers for NEA, Lee and Ng did not state any plea and asked for the case to be adjourned for eight weeks, and to confirm their clients’ instructions on the matter.
The case will be heard in court again on Feb 20, 2024.
If convicted, NEA could be fined up to $500,000. Lee and Ng could be fined up to $30,000 or jailed for up to two years, respectively.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.