SINGAPORE – A man who was working on the seventh-storey rooftop of a condominium on a hot day in 2022 before he fell to his death was likely disoriented due to heat stress, said a coroner on Wednesday.

In an inquiry into construction worker Ahmmed Mohammad Manik’s death, the court heard that the 37-year-old Bangladeshi did not wear a harness and had inadequate access to water.

Coroner Marvin Bay said that the foreign worker and his colleague were sharing a 500ml bottle of water when they were deployed to work on the rooftop.

The colleague, Mr Hossain Md Akter, went to the ground floor to get more water only after Mr Ahmmed began showing signs of heat stress.

Coroner Bay, who ruled Mr Ahmmed’s death to be an unfortunate industrial misadventure, added: “Given our country’s tropical location, and our susceptibility to seasonal and climate change-induced heat waves, it would be ideal if employers ensure that workers working at height, or in other inaccessible places, have ready and timely access to water.

“Ensuring that workers’ hydration needs are effectively and expeditiously met would mitigate the risk of both heat stress and heat stress-induced injuries.”

The coroner also said that Mr Ahmmed’s employer, RJ Contract, had failed to implement proper work-at-height procedures.

He added that the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) found that the waterproofing company had fallen short in complying with its own proposed plans for fall prevention.

Among other things, there was no handhold to allow safe descent for workers from a parapet wall to a roof.

MOM has since indicated that it is contemplating enforcement action against the firm for possible breaches under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.

Coroner Bay said that MOM’s investigation also noted that Mr Ahmmed had taken a short rest before the fatal fall in 2022.

It was unlikely that he was fatigued from labouring strenuously or working especially long hours at the time.

Mr Ahmmed had gone to a polyclinic on July 27, 2020, after a fainting episode while working under the sun.

He was then diagnosed with vasovagal syncope – a fainting episode from a reduced blood flow to the brain.

On May 24, 2022, he was deployed to work on the rooftop of the seven-storey Block 16 at Westcove Condominium in West Coast Crescent.

According to Mr Hossain, their manager reminded them to don safety equipment. Mr Hossain told investigators that he put on his harness, but Mr Ahmmed did not.

Coroner Bay said: “Mr Hossain recalled that the sun was strong, and they thus worked in ‘very hot’ weather conditions at the time they commenced their tasks.”

After about 30 minutes, Mr Ahmmed told Mr Hossain that he felt very unwell, “in a way he had not felt before”. He also asked Mr Hossain for water, but there was none left in the 500ml bottle that they were sharing between them.

Mr Hossain then went down to the ground level and filled the bottle with water before returning to the roof. After drinking water, Mr Ahmmed had also said: “People cannot live without water.”

Mr Hossain advised Mr Ahmmed to rest, but the latter said that he wanted to continue working.

Mr Hossain had told investigators that he was working with his back facing Mr Ahmmed, but did not see him when he turned around later.

When Mr Hossain looked down, he found his colleague lying on the ground level.

The police were alerted at around 11am and paramedics who arrived at the scene found that Mr Ahmmed was still breathing. An ambulance took him to the National University Hospital, but he was pronounced dead shortly before 1pm that day.

An autopsy later found that he died of multiple injuries.