In a media release on Friday , the Ministry of Manpower said that Ong Chin Chong, who owns Hiap Seng Lorry Enterprises, failed to ensure that the lorry chain was in good condition and his workers were trained to perform the operations.
On 26 April 2016, Ong and two of his workers, Venugopal Sarath Kumar and Dhatchinamoorthy Karthik, were unloading a bundle of wire mesh from their lorry using the vehicle’s hydraulic crane arm. Ong operated the lorry crane and supervised the lifting operation, while the workers were tasked to rig and align the bundle of wire mesh during lifting.
Investigation findings by MOMInvestigations by MOM revealed that the two-legged lifting chain had a hook on one leg and a shackle that was barely secured by a steel wire on the other leg. The steel wire loosened and was dislodged from the shackle during the fatal lifting operation.