SINGAPORE - An engineer who stepped onto a false ceiling panel and fell seven storeys to her death at the CapitaSpring skyscraper was aware of the building’s features, said an investigator on Tuesday.
On the first day of an inquiry into Ms Carina Monton Isip’s death, Mr Lucas Ng from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said that information about the false ceiling on level 16M of the building could have “slipped” her mind just before the fall.
The 48-year-old woman, who weighed 52kg, had stepped onto the false ceiling panel that was only 1cm thick and fell 30m to the ninth storey on April 8, 2022. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Mr Ng told State Coroner Adam Nakhoda on Tuesday that people on a walkway on level 16M did not have to wear safety gear such as harnesses. However, such gear must be worn by some workers should they work on a gondola system there.
Mr Ng testified that there were also guardrails along the walkway and there were signs saying “fall hazard” in the area. But there were no signs to specifically alert people about the possible dangers posed by the false ceiling.
The court heard that shortly before the tragedy, some gratings were removed at level 16M so that work could be done on a gondola system there.
Ms Isip was inspecting the area when the incident happened.
In an earlier statement, MOM said Ms Isip was an employee of engineering and construction company Dragages Singapore.
The ministry added that the site occupier is Ascott International Management, a wholly owned business unit of CapitaLand, which is the co-owner and project developer for CapitaSpring – a 51-storey integrated development in Market Street near Raffles Place.
There were 46 workplace deaths in 2022, the highest number reported since 2016, when there were 66 fatalities.
In 2021, 37 workplace deaths were reported.
There were six workplace fatalities as at March 1, 2023.
MOM had earlier said: “Fatalities in 2022 have been a major concern, and we did not meet our workplace safety and health target of 1.1 per 100,000 workers.
“The spate of workplace fatal injuries was largely due to basic safety lapses, such as inadequate safety planning and control measures, and non-compliance with safety measures.”
To mitigate the spate of workplace fatalities in 2022, MOM had, in September, implemented heightened safety period measures.
On April 4, 2023, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad said that the measures have worked well to arrest the spate of workplace fatalities, with the construction sector showing improvements in reducing workplace accidents.
“However, the incidence of major injuries did not improve in some sectors such as manufacturing,” he added.
State Coroner Nakhoda is expected to give his findings into Ms Isip’s death at a later date.
