Worker falls to his death at Shaw Plaza in Balestier Road

SINGAPORE - An Indian national fell to his death while carrying out housekeeping works on Thursday (Nov 14), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Saturday.

MOM said the 30-year-old man went through a partition board, falling from level 1 to basement 1 at 360 Balestier Road - the address for Shaw Plaza.

The worker, who was not identified, was employed by Express 21. The company works on electrical engineering and structured cabling projects for buildings, among other things.

MOM said investigations are ongoing and all work within the worksite has been stopped.

The number of workers who died as a result of a fall from height declined from 24 in 2009 to eight last year, partly due to the Government's and industry partners' concerted efforts to raise awareness and train workers.

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The incident at Shaw Plaza comes just after the ministry concluded the Work at Height Symposium on Friday, an annual event that aims to tackle the issue of workers falling from height.

Over the years, different measures have been introduced, including the use of technology to handle high-risk tasks.

MOM also conducted more inspections.

In September, 300 checks were done on 250 companies, after which the ministry issued four stop-work orders and 80 fines totalling $91,000.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.