No foul play suspected by police in 2024 Lentor construction site accident that killed two

SINGAPORE – A Coroner’s Inquiry into the deaths of two workers at a Lentor construction site for the North-South Corridor was opened on Sept 17.

Indonesian national Heryanto Tan, 38, and Bangladeshi national Hossain Salim, 39, died after an 11-tonne winch drum toppled on them on Sept 17, 2024.

Exactly two years to the day of their deaths, investigating officers from the Singapore Police Force (SPF) and Ministry of Manpower (MOM) gave evidence at the inquiry.

SPF Station Inspector (SI) Lee Ren Hui, the investigating officer into the case, said the police did not suspect foul play into the deaths.

Similarly, MOM’s senior investigation officer Hong Hui Fen said MOM was not looking to take action against anyone involved in the accident.

Tan was a site engineer, while Salim was a construction worker.

That day, both men were part of a group of workers assembling sheave blocks onto a winch drum.

A sheave block is a heavy duty pulley system that helps to align the direction of the winch, according to checks by The Straits Times.

Hong said Tan and Salim were employed by VSL Singapore, the local subsidiary of Swiss specialist contractor VSL.

SI Lee said the pair had gathered alongside other workers at 8.30am to assemble two units of sheave blocks onto the lower frame of a winch drum.

Hong said the winch drum, which is typically used to lift heavy materials, measured more than 2.2 metres wide and weighed 11 tonnes.

In his evidence, SI Lee said the winch drum was lifted by a mobile crane that morning and lowered onto two concrete blocks, which measured 1 metre by 1 metre each.

Investigations by MOM revealed the winch drum was typically supported by four concrete blocks instead of two.

Hong said Tan had instructed the mobile crane operator to maintain tension to its chain slings, which were attached to the winch drum, as it was resting on the two concrete blocks.

She said Tan had also instructed his workers to use a mechanical jack to prop up a gap that had appeared between the sheave block and the lower frame of the winch drum.

One of the workers interviewed by MOM had said Tan did not say why he wanted the chain slings to remain attached to the winch drum, but suspected it could be because Tan wanted the chain slings to provide secondary support and stability.

The group then proceeded to assemble the sheave blocks to the winch drum - including working beneath the heavy machinery to attach the nuts and bolts.

The group worked until 11.40am before taking a break for lunch. At this point, the chain slings were removed from the winch drum. Hong said it was a company practice to unrig and stop any lifting works during lunch time.

After lunch, the group resumed work at 1pm. At this point, the crane did not have its chain slings attached to the drum winch, which was only supported by the two concrete blocks.

At 1.10pm, Tan noticed a gap forming between the sheave block and lower frame of the winch drum again. Hong said Tan then instructed a worker to release the mechanical jack, possibly to reposition it to close that gap.

SI Lee said when the worker released the jack, the winch drum became unstable, slipped off the concrete blocks and toppled onto both Tan and Salim. The other workers managed to escape, with two others suffering very minor injuries.

Hong said a professional engineer engaged by VSL to conduct an audit after the accident concluded that the mechanical jack had provided lateral support to the winch drum, which was an unintentional result of its position.

The winch drum had lost that support after the mechanical jack was released and fell.

When the winch drum was eventually lifted, Salim was unresponsive and lying in a prone position. Tan was pinned below his waist and still conscious.

Paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force pronounced Salim dead at the scene. Tan was conveyed to Khoo Teck Puat Hospital but died.

The coroner adjourned the hearing and said he will provide his findings at a later date.