SMRT fires eight staff over tunnel flooding incident

After internal investigations into the Bishan-Braddell tunnel flooding incident in October, SMRT has announced that eight of the 13 staff found responsible have been dismissed in accordance with SMRT’s disciplinary framework.

The eight staff who have been dismissed include the five technical staff in the work team who had falsified pump maintenance records, as well as two managers and one senior executive who were in charge of ensuring that pump maintenance was duly carried out during the period.

The internal investigation and disciplinary inquiry (DI) into the staff responsible for the pump maintenance at the Bishan-Braddell tunnel also found that vice president Tay Tien Seng and senior manager Ivan Kok, who are no longer with the company, had failed to exercise sufficient supervision during the period when the falsification of the pump maintenance records occurred. SMRT states that it reserves its right to pursue legal action against them as may be appropriate.

Additionally, three other management executives, including a vice president, have also been disciplined according to the train operator's internal disciplinary framework for failing to exercise the due care and diligence expected of them in relation to the maintenance of the pumps.

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Moving forward, to avoid similar incidents from occuring, SMRT has made critical personnel changes to the management and maintenance team.

This includes stepping up leadership training for mid-level supervisors and managers; setting up a joint readiness inspection team to independently audit and monitor maintenance and asset replacement in a systematic way; and engaging third-party qualified persons and subject matter experts to enhance quality control surveillance of all maintenance activities and conduct a system-wide review of critical systems.

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