Supervisor gets 5 months’ jail for negligence after worker dies from electrocution during solar panel maintenance on Singapore Expo rooftop

Summary

• Ramalingam Kumaresan, a supervisor, was sentenced to five months’ jail after a worker died from electrocution at Singapore Expo in June 2023.

• Investigations found that 79 solar panels were connected in a single series, despite instructions limiting each series to 20 panels.

• The worker picked up the exposed cable with his bare hand and was electrocuted when the current passed through his body.

SINGAPORE: Singapore Expo’s rooftop became the scene of a fatal workplace accident after a solar panel connection went unchecked.

Ramalingam Kumaresan, 46, a supervisor, was sentenced to five months’ jail on Sept 25 for negligence. The worker died on June 12, 2023, after picking up an exposed cable linked to the solar panels.

Kumaresan was responsible for supervising the solar panel installation team at E-Tech Building Services. The victim worked with the company’s mechanical team, Channel NewsAsia (CNA) reported (Sept 25).

79 solar panels connected despite 20-panel limit

The solar panel work began on April 17, 2023, at Singapore Expo’s Hall 4B. Two workers installed and connected the panels under Kumaresan’s direction. The work finished two days later.

On June 1, Kumaresan instructed the team to connect looping cables across the installed panels. Court documents later found that 79 panels had been connected in one series.

The supervisor’s instruction contradicted a string drawing provided to an electrician on the team. The drawing stated that no more than 20 panels should be connected in one series.

Kumaresan expected the workers to follow the drawing. He therefore didn't carry out the checks required to confirm that the connections complied with the drawing’s instructions.

Damaged cable led to fatal electrocution

On June 12, Kumaresan sent the victim and another worker to carry out housekeeping on the rooftops of Expo Halls 4 and 5.

The victim found a damaged solar panel cable with an exposed end and a burn mark on the roof. He reported it to Kumaresan, who came to inspect the cable.

Kumaresan saw the worker holding the damaged end and said he would get a tool to remove the solar panel. The worker soon shouted and collapsed. He was taken to hospital but died later that day.

Investigators found that he had touched the exposed cable with one hand while touching the roof with his other hand. This completed the electrical circuit and caused the fatal shock.

Workplace safety failures can carry jail terms and costly fines

The Ministry of Manpower prosecutor, Melvyn Low, sought six to eight months’ jail for the supervisor, while Kumaresan’s lawyer, Daniel Tay, asked for three to four months.

District Judge Crystal Tan found the case involved high harm and moderate culpability.

Under Singapore law, a negligent act at work that endangers another person’s safety or health can carry a jail term of up to 2 years, a fine of up to S$30,000, or both.

The numbers here are striking: 79 panels were connected, whereas the plan allowed only 20. A simple safety check could have caught that difference.

In high-risk work, supervision is about not assuming people know what to do. It’s checking that the work was actually done safely.