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The Ministry argued that the 2017 death of a PSA employee was preventable and stemmed from failures to implement adequate safety measures during crane maintenance work.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is seeking a higher penalty against PSA Singapore after the port operator was fined S$225,000 over a workplace accident that claimed the life of one of its employees at Keppel Terminal in 2017.
According to a report by ST, MOM filed its appeal on 15 June, following PSA's conviction under the Workplace Safety and Health Act for failing to ensure the safety and health of its employees at work.
The company was convicted on 16 March and sentenced on 4 June after a 33-day trial.
During earlier court proceedings, Delvinder Singh, Prosecutor, MOM had argued for a fine of between S$300,000 and S$350,000, it was further reported.
In sentencing submissions, Singh described the incident as a "tragic and entirely preventable death", adding that PSA had systematically failed in its duty as an employer to ensure the safety and health of its employees.
PSA has also filed an appeal against both its conviction and sentence.
How the incident unfolded
The fatal accident took place on 20 September 2017 during what began as a routine maintenance inspection at Keppel Terminal.
At around 10am, Lee Swee Loong, 33, a technical specialist at PSA, was investigating abnormal noises coming from a crane's gearbox and hoist system. To pinpoint the source of the problem, he asked a colleague, Mohammad Iqbal Buang, to operate the crane at different speeds while he monitored the equipment.
Moments later, Iqbal noticed a black object fall from the trolley platform above the operator's cabin. Realising that something could be wrong, he immediately stopped the crane and cut its power.
When repeated attempts to contact Lee via walkie-talkie went unanswered, Iqbal climbed onto the platform and found him trapped between a rope drum and a nearby platform next to the crane's motor housing.
Lee was pronounced dead at the scene. According to an autopsy report, he suffered multiple injuries consistent with being crushed between rotating machinery.
Court points to safety lapses
Court documents showed that PSA had failed to effectively implement control measures to prevent employees from being exposed to rotating parts on the crane during maintenance work.
The company was also found to have failed to implement safe work procedures for crane maintenance activities.
According to the prosecution, further cited by ST, the risk of workers being exposed to rotating machinery during maintenance work was reasonably foreseeable.
Singh told the court that PSA knew technical specialists regularly accessed a narrow, oil-stained platform on the crane to inspect the gearbox, and that it was the only location from which they could properly carry out the task.
Despite this, the company did not provide procedures tailored to the crane's layout or sufficient safeguards to protect workers from rotating parts, he argued.
Instead, employees relied on generic procedures covering multiple crane models and were left to improvise maintenance methods on a daily basis.
The prosecutor also highlighted testimony from Phinehas Tan, Vice-President, PSA who confirmed that Lee had taken safety seriously and had no record of unsafe work practices during his time with the company.
Singh argued that the circumstances made the case particularly serious, noting that an employee with a strong commitment to workplace safety had lost his life because of failures in the system designed to protect him.
PSA responds
In a statement to ST, PSA said it had fully assisted the authorities during investigations into the incident.
The company added that ensuring the safety, health and welfare of people at work remains fundamental to its operations and that workplace safety is of paramount importance across its premises.
Human Resources Online has reached out to MOM for a statement and will update this article once a response is received.
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