Indian-origin construction worker jailed for causing fatal accident at Singapore work site

An Indian-origin construction worker was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail in Singapore for negligence for causing the death of a compatriot following a vehicular accident last year, the Ministry of Manpower said on Friday.

Muthukaruppan Suresh was working as a wheel loader operator at the time of the accident, and the deceased, Arumugam Saravanan, also of Indian origin, was a lifting supervisor, the ministry said in a press release.

The accident occurred on April 22, last year, when Saravanan walked across a vehicular access driveway towards a sheltered rest area for his morning break and was struck by Suresh with the front left bucket of the wheel loader.

"Saravanan fell and was run over by the wheel loader's front and rear left wheels," the ministry said. It added that Saravanan was taken to hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

According to the ministry, investigations showed that Suresh was negligent in his duties as a wheel loader operator.

"If Suresh had not raised the bucket to a point where his line of vision was obstructed, he would not have collided with the deceased," Channel News Asia quoted the ministry as saying.