54-year-old cleaner found dead in Punggol HDB trash compactor

Singapore ― A 54-year-old cleaner was found dead inside a Housing & Development Board (HDB) trash compactor in Punggol Central on Saturday morning (Oct 16).

Yeo Wan Ling, Member of Parliament for Punggol Shore, took to Facebook on Saturday to share the news with the public.

“We had an unfortunate accident involving one of our Town Council cleaners in Punggol Shore today,” she said, referring to the incident which happened in the central refuse chute compactor room of Block 623C in Punggol Central.

“My team and I met with the family at the scene and are rendering our full support to them,” said Ms Yeo.

She also urged members of the public to refrain from sharing photos of the accident.

“If you had received photos of the accident, please delete the photos and do not circulate them further. Please respect the privacy of the family.”

The man was caught between the door and discharge outlet of the trash compactor, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), reported The Straits Times.

He was identified only as Mr Lee, a Singaporean working for Lian Cheng Contracting.

Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene at about 8:15 am.

Meanwhile, MOM has advised the contractor to stop all works involving access to central rubbish chutes and operating waste compactors during its investigations.

Police investigations are ongoing.

There is now a total of 32 cases of workplace fatalities in Singapore this year.

Twenty-three workers died on the job between January and June, of which six were involved in vehicular accidents. /TISG

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