SINGAPORE, June 26 — A Singapore company has been fined S$500,000 (RM1.58 million), while one of its directors was jailed over workplace safety failures linked to a 2021 explosion at an industrial plant in Tuas that killed three workers and seriously injured seven others.

According to CNA, Stars Engrg director Chua Xing Da, 42, was sentenced on Thursday to 18 months and one week’s imprisonment after being convicted of two workplace safety offences and one count of obstructing justice.

The company, which operated the plant, was fined S$500,000.

Production manager Lwin Moe Tun, 36, was jailed for six weeks after being convicted of obstructing justice by deleting messages and photographs relevant to the investigation.

He was acquitted of a workplace safety charge.

The explosion occurred on February 24, 2021, at an industrial building in Tuas after a heated mixing machine was operated unsafely. 

Three workers — Indian national Subbaiyan Marimuthu, 38, and Bangladeshi nationals Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Shohel Md, 23 — later died from burns covering about 90 per cent of their bodies.

Seven others, including five Stars Engrg employees and two workers from a neighbouring unit, sustained serious burn injuries.

The court heard that Chua had operated the mixing machine based on his own assumptions rather than consulting the Chinese manufacturer, despite experiencing repeated technical problems.

District Judge Tan Jen Tse found that Chua personally oversaw the installation of the machine, trained workers to operate it and approved repairs. 

Although the manufacturer had been willing to provide technical assistance, Chua instead attempted to troubleshoot the equipment himself despite having an incomplete understanding of how it functioned.

The judge said the company also failed to seek the manufacturer’s advice before carrying out welding repairs and modifying the machine’s heat insulation system.

Investigations by Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) found the machine had been operated unsafely over an extended period despite warning signs, including overheating, oil leaks and a fire shortly before the fatal explosion.

The prosecution argued that Chua made all the critical decisions that led to the safety failures, including determining the amount of heating oil to use, operating the mixer as a closed rather than open system, and making unauthorised modifications. 

Prosecutors also said he ignored multiple warning signs before the blast.

Separately, Chua was convicted of obstructing justice after telling an employee it was “ok” to delete messages relating to an unsafe work practice. 

Lwin later deleted text messages and photographs connected to the investigation.

The defence accepted the seriousness of the incident but argued Chua’s actions stemmed from mistaken assumptions and incomplete knowledge rather than a deliberate disregard for safety. 

His lawyer also said Chua had worked with MOM after the explosion to help strengthen industry safety procedures.

Following sentencing, MOM said an inquiry committee concluded the explosion could have been prevented and was caused by serious failures in the operation and maintenance of the mixing machine, as well as inadequate controls over combustible powders that contributed to secondary flash fires.

The ministry said it had accepted all of the committee’s recommendations. Enhanced workplace safety requirements for high-risk machinery and combustible dust took effect in January 2025.

The court allowed Chua and Lwin to begin serving their jail terms in July, while Stars Engrg was permitted to pay its fine in instalments until July 2027.