Everything About the Death of a Cleaner in a Punggol Refuse Chute Room

On 16 Oct, an unfortunate tragedy happened in Punggol.

A 54-year-old Singaporean man was found trapped in the rubbish compressor at Block 623C in Punggol Central yesterday (16 Oct) morning.

He was caught between the door and discharge outlet of the waste compactor in the central refuse chute compactor room of the block.

The Singapore Civil Defence Force arrived at the scene to find no sign of life. He was declared dead at 8.15am due to serious injuries.

No foul play is suspected.

A second-floor neighbour believed that he was spotted by passers-by as she saw them on their phones for an extended period of time before the police arrive.

All operations involving access to the central rubbish chutes and operation of the waste compactors were instructed to halt as the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) investigate the incident.

54YO Local Cleaner

The 54-year-old block sweeper, Mr Lim, was employed by Lian Cheng Contracting.

According to the chairman of Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC, Mr Sharael Taha, Mr Lim was an exemplary worker. He was also well-liked by residents and his colleagues.

A resident of the block commented on his kindness and his loud voice, contributing to the normalcy around their area.

Mr Lim had been cleaning the area for over three years.

An anonymous supervisor revealed that Mr Lim and the other cleaners have not been through training. They normally would not go near the trash compactor unless the rubbish truck was arriving.

Another supervisor revealed that the rubbish truck reaches the block at about 9am daily. Thus, there was a chance that Mr Lim was preparing for the rubbish collection.

Unfortunately, there are no CCTVs near the rubbish chute. Further investigations of the case are still ongoing.

Respect the Privacy of the Family

Unfortunately, photos of this unfortunate tragedy have made their way online.

Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Yeo Wan Ling, MP for the Punggol Shore ward, requested for the public to delete the photos and not to circulate them further.

They also requested for the members of the public to respect the privacy of Mr Lim’s family.

32 Workplace Fatalities

As of 2021, there’s a total number of 32 workplace fatalities including this case. One of the top causes of workplace death is vehicular accidents.

In 2019, a man’s body was found on the ground floor of a rubbish chute area in Woodlands. He was only discovered when the cleaning crew opened the door in the morning.

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Featured Image: Facebook (Yeo Wan Ling)