Five people were injured and brought to the hospital after an accident involving a car and a lorry ferrying foreign workers occurred on Sunday afternoon (5 September) in the Central Business District.
Due to the impact of the crash, two foreign workers, who were at the back of the lorry, were thrown out of the vehicle, said a witness.
Following the collision, the driver of the lorry inexplicably reversed the vehicle and ran over one of the workers, a 55-year-old food delivery man who witnessed the accident told Chinese-language evening paper Shin Min Daily News.
“The injured worker was lying on the ground, crying out in pain. He was conscious, but unable to speak,” said the witness.
He also said that both the driver and passenger in the car looked like they were in shock and did not leave their vehicle until the Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived.
Management consultant Robert Jessing told the Straits Times (ST) that he was driving by the accident spot when it happened and immediately stopped to help the two injured workers.
“The damage was very clear – one of the workers had wheel tracks on his back as the lorry ran over his lower back and buttocks,” said the 43-year-old to ST.
He added, “Nothing severe was broken from what I could tell, but the skin on his lower back had a massive rash from being rolled over.”
The man added that the other worker was bleeding slightly from the head, and was almost losing his consciousness.
“I tried to keep both of them still to prevent them from being injured further until the ambulances arrived,” he said.
He continued, “This accident proves more safety measures are needed to provide foreign workers a safe ride.”
The police noted that they were informed of the accident at the junction of Cross Street and Cecil Street, in the Shenton Way area, at 5.44pm on Sunday.
Three men, aged between 28 and 34, were taken to Singapore General Hospital.
Besides that, the driver of the car, a 58-year-old woman, and the passenger, a 60-year-old man, were also taken to the hospital.
Police investigations are ongoing.
This is not the first time such accident has happened. Earlier in April this year, 10 men were brought to the hospital for treatment after a lorry ferrying migrant workers was involved in a road accident at Upper Bukit Timah Road.
According to the police, the 35-year-old driver and nine passengers, said to be migrant workers, were rushed to hospital in a conscious state.
Just four days prior to this accident, another crash involving migrant workers being ferried on lorry occurred at Pan-Island Expressway (PIE).
It was reported that a lorry carrying foreign workers to their worksite collided with a stationary tipper truck on 24 April. Two workers died in that accident and 15 others were injured.
Netizens react
Upon reading this news, netizens were quick to urge authorities to prohibit migrant workers from being ferried on lorry. Penning their thoughts in the Facebook page of The Straits Times, they explained it is extremely dangerous to ferry workers on a lorry, adding that Singapore is an advanced country and it should not treat humans like livestock.
One user wrote: “Dear authorities, you have been collecting so much duties from properties buyers and developers perhaps some of these earning should go into ensuring the developers are doing better for protecting their workers.”
Others slammed the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for not taking much action to solve this issue. They said that this is not the first time such an incident had occurred, and asked how many more people have to die before MOM decides to make it a law to stop companies from ferrying workers on lorries.
Some online users blamed reckless lorry drivers who ferry these migrant workers. They said that these drivers speed and switch lanes dangerously, with no regards for road safety and rules.
