Worker dies after crashing through ceiling at Tampines Mall

A worker has died after falling through a false ceiling at Tampines Mall last Saturday (25 Jan).

According to TODAY, the worker, a 26-year-old Indian national, was cleaning the walkway above the mall’s atrium ceiling on the 4th floor at around 1.22am when he fell through the false ceiling and landed on the 3rd floor.

The police said the man was conscious when taken to Changi General Hospital where he later died from his injuries.

In a statement to The New Paper yesterday (30 Jan), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) noted that the worker was employed by Cleaning Express Pte Ltd, and that Tampines Mall is run by CapitaLand Retail Management.

Both MOM and the police are investigating the incident. Meanwhile, the MOM has ordered a halt to all cleaning works above the mall’s atrium ceiling.

Commenting on the incident, Ms Lynda Poh, Manager, Business Development & Client Services at Cleaning Express Pte Ltd, said, “Our prayers and thoughts are with the loved ones of our departed colleague during this trying time. We are continually in touch with his family and extending all forms of assistance needed through this period.”

“We are currently investigating why he was working in an area that he has been briefed not to, in line with work and safety regulations, given the evident dangers involved. We are also giving our full and undivided cooperation to the respective authorities through the course of their investigations of this unprecedented incident,” she added.

This incident is believed to be the fourth workplace fatality islandwide since the new year.

In a Facebook post on 19 January, the MOM stated that three people have died in workplace accidents since the start of 2020.

The first accident on 8 January saw a worker getting crushed to death by a toppled pallet of gas cyclinders. The fatality occurred when a group of workers was installing piles using a crawler crane at a construction site, according to the report by Workplace Safety & Health Council (WSH Council). As the work was being carried out, the crane operator turned the crane, toppling off a pallet of gas cylinders onto a nearby worker. Paramedics pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

The second accident took place on 11 January where a runner fell onto a worker from a formwork structure that was being shifted by four workers, according to the WSH Council. As the form structure was being moved, a runner fell from the top, striking one of the workers – who later died at the hospital from the injury.

The third accident saw a worker falling from a tugboat into the sea.