Tan Teik Soon, 53, did so as he feared that he would get into trouble with authorities and be implicated in the death of the worker.
Tan was at the site operating an excavator, while his employee, 32-year-old Bangladeshi national Howlader Sanowar, was assisting him by spraying water in the air to remove dust. He suddenly collapsed and later died from electrocution. Other workers rushed to attend to him, and paramedics flagged the case to the police.When Tan heard that Howlader had been asked to provide a statement to the police, he told his subordinate to lie to the police that he was not present when the deceased collapsed.The prosecutor sought one to two weeks' jail, saying the workplace fatality was of a grave and serious nature.
He said Tan accepted his culpability and was not running away from liability, but said it was not crucial for Tan to be present at the worksite.