Shillong, September 7: Alagappan Ganesan, an Indian-origin forklift operator, has been sentenced to 18 weeks in jail in Singapore due to negligence leading to a workplace fatality, as reported by the city-state’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in their August prosecution cases report.
As per IANS, Ganesan, a certified forklift operator employed by Asiabuild Construction, received his sentencing on August 15 under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
The incident occurred on July 7, 2022, when Ganesan was operating a forklift in a multi-storey carpark where Kunjappa Makesh and a co-worker were laying cables. In an attempt to prevent the cable from being run over by the forklift, Kunjappa and his co-worker tried to throw it over the machine. Unfortunately, the cable landed on the forklift’s rear.
Kunjappa then climbed onto the rear of the forklift, but Ganesan began to reverse the machine, causing Kunjappa to become trapped between the forklift’s overhead guard and a beam. Despite being rushed to the hospital, Kunjappa succumbed to his injuries.
MOM’s investigations revealed that Ganesan had been negligent in performing his duties as a forklift operator.
“He did not pay attention to the environment or perform any checks before operating the machine,” MOM stated, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and awareness for machinery operators like forklift operators and quay crane operators when there are workers nearby.