‘I can only keep crying’: Grand-uncle of worker who died in Tanjong Pagar worksite collapse

SINGAPORE – For two hours, he kept his emotions in check as rescue workers cut through steel and concrete to get to his grand-nephew Vinoth Kumar, who was trapped under rubble

after part of the Fuji Xerox Towers building in Tanjong Pagar collapsed during demolition works.

Then at about 10pm on Thursday, he was told that they had found the 20-year-old, who did not survive the collapse.

“I can only keep crying. It is very sad,” Mr Raja Manickam, 44, told The Straits Times after he was asked to identify his relative.

“He is my family, my baby. He grew up in my home and I took care of him. How long can I continue to cry?”

When word reached him that Mr Vinoth was missing at the worksite, Mr Raja said he rushed to the scene and got there at 8pm. He was the family member who was responsible for the young man in Singapore.

Mr Raja, a supervisor at Aik Sun Demolition and Engineering, was the one who told Mr Vinoth about the job opening at the company.

They both worked for the company, and so did several of their distant relatives.

The young man, who had a diploma in mechanical engineering from a school in Tiruchirappalli, in Tamil Nadu, arrived here in September 2022.

Mr Raja said his grand-nephew was hoping to help his parents and younger brother escape their life of poverty in Tamil Nadu.

He added that Mr Vinoth would diligently send money back home to his family each month.

His parents earn a daily wage of about $3 to $4 each, said Mr Raja. Mr Vinoth’s father does odd jobs and works at farms, while his mother is a labourer who carries bags of cement at construction sites.

The couple’s younger son, aged 17, is still studying.

Mr Raja said in Tamil of Mr Vinoth: “He was a very responsible young man. He made sure to only spend his money on food, and even then, only what he needed to sustain himself.

“He didn’t even buy tea for himself because he would worry that it would cost too much.”

Mr Vinoth was reported missing after a reinforced concrete wall, which measured about 10m long and 3.8m high, on the second storey of the former Fuji Xerox Towers, collapsed onto the street during demolition.

It took more than six hours of search and rescue operations before his body was recovered.

Mr Vinoth’s parents were informed about his death late on Thursday night. Mr Raja said that about 100 villagers gathered at their home to console them.

“The family is in disbelief and shock right now. They are grieving because their son is gone,” said Mr Raja.

“It’s very unfortunate that this happened, and it’s a pity that a good son like him has passed.”

At about 11.45am on Friday, Mr Raja turned up at the mortuary in Singapore General Hospital to claim the young worker’s body. He was accompanied by about 10 people, including other relatives and colleagues of Mr Vinoth.

Mr Raja kept a stoic look on his face throughout, as he claimed his grand-nephew’s body for the final journey home. He said they had to rush to the embalmers before repatriating Mr Vinoth’s body via Chennai to his village and his family.

Mr Saamudi Karthik, the 29-year-old maternal uncle of the victim, said his nephew often watched videos of motorcycles.

“He wanted to buy a motorbike using his own money. That’s the reason why he came to Singapore at such a young age,” he said, adding that Mr Vinoth was never interested in working in Singapore for too long, and wanted to go back to India after a few years.

Mr Karthik, who was at the mortuary with Mr Raja to claim the young man’s body, called on companies to take more safety precautions to prevent such mishaps.

National Trades Union Congress assistant secretary-general Melvin Yong said on Friday that an urgent and comprehensive investigation must be conducted to determine the root causes and contributing factors that led to the wall collapsing.

“Demolition projects inherently involve significant risks and potential hazards, both to workers and those in the surrounding vicinity.

“The investigation should encompass all aspects of the project, including planning, risk assessment, worker training, supervision and compliance with safety regulations,” he said in a Facebook post.

Mr Yong added that such incidents can potentially cause mass casualties and urged all construction sites doing high-risk work to take immediate action to ensure the safety of their workers.

Such measures include reviewing safety protocols to ensure that workers involved in demolition works are adequately protected. If there are deficiencies, companies must take steps such as improving structural evaluations, said Mr Yong.

The Migrant Workers’ Centre (MWC) said that it has contacted Aik Sun to find out more about the incident.

MWC added that its primary objective is to ensure that the immediate needs of Mr Vinoth’s family are met.

“We will extend an ex-gratia payout through the Migrant Workers’ Assistance Fund to provide interim financial assistance to help his next-of-kin to tide over while they await compensation from the Work Injury Compensation Act,” said MWC in a Facebook post on Friday.

The centre added that it will provide counselling services for the workers who were working near the site of the accident, when the need arises.

“It is our aim to ensure that no worker is left alone in the aftermath of such distressing incidents and we stand ready to provide comprehensive assistance,” said MWC.

When ST visited the demolition site at 80 Anson Road at about 10.45am on Friday, the place was cordoned off to the public. Construction workers paced outside the cordon as auxiliary police officers patrolled the area.

A Building and Construction Authority (BCA) representative who was at the scene said that BCA officers, along with those from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), would arrive later in the day.

During lunchtime, curious onlookers working in the area were observed crossing the traffic light at Bernam Street to look at the demolition site.

At about 2pm, three MOM officers arrived wearing body cameras. At least five police officers also arrived in a police van. The officers went into the site wearing safety helmets.