SINGAPORE — Not only were numerous safety protocols meant to protect workers not followed in a fatal accident last March, such lapses were “systemic” and took place “on many levels”, noted a judge who on Tuesday (Feb 28) imposed a record S$400,000 fine on SMRT Trains for its role in the accident.

On at least 200 occasions in 2015, staff had access to train tracks with limited clearance during traffic hours, but safety rules were flouted in the bulk of them, investigations showed.

While SMRT had safety operating procedures in place, these were “not worth the paper on which these were printed, if they were printed at all”, said District Judge Chay Yuen Fatt as he handed down the ruling. 

On March 22 last year, SMRT trainees Muhammad Asyraf Ahmad Buhari, 24, and Nasrulhudin Najumudin, 26, were killed by an oncoming train travelling between Tampines and Pasir Ris MRT stations in the morning. They were part of 15-man team that went onto the tracks to check on a warning signal from a monitoring device.

SMRT Trains was hauled to court in December for flouting the Workplace Safety and Health Act. On Tuesday, the operator admitted to failing to ensure employees complied with approved operating procedures when accessing the train track, and neglecting to ensure that the actual actions had passed safety audits, and were documented and disseminated. 

While there were documented safety protocols in place since 1997, investigations revealed that the Operations Control Centre (OCC) — in charge of authorising and supervising track access — had been approving non-compliant requests as early as 2002. 

In last year’s accident, there were at least nine deviations from protocol, ranging from improper signage to the lack of a red flag or flashing light placed at least 15m in front of the worksite. DJ Chay said that it was highly disconcerting and aggravating that these failures were systemic and had occurred on many levels. “Not only were the operating procedures not followed, a completely different and clearly unsafe set of practices had been adopted for the longest of time by SMRT employees,” he said. 

“The actual practices appeared to have evolved over time in a haphazard fashion to suit the convenience of the employees and these were neither documented nor disseminated.” 

Employees were left to adopt any practice deemed convenient, and either disregarded the official safety protocols or had no knowledge of them, the judge added.

On that fateful day, the trainees had followed former assistant engineer Lim Say Heng onto the track. Another team-mate had spotted the incoming train, and shouted at them to get off the track. Lim managed to jump towards the left and off the track, but Asyraf and Nasrulhudin were unable to avoid the train. 

Lawyers acting for the rail operator pushed the blame to employees on duty that day — one of them being former train captain Rahmat Mohamed, who drove the train that hit the trainees. SMRT claimed that Mr Rahmat should have sounded the horn and stopped the train upon spotting the team on the walkway along the tracks, and has since fired him following an internal disciplinary inquiry. 

Lim also failed to check that the next approaching train was on manual mode. He was also sacked by SMRT and has been charged with causing death by a negligent act. 

Senior Counsel Andre Maniam, representing SMRT, said that deviations from safety protocol were never “documented, approved or authorised”, simply because SMRT had no knowledge of them. 

He added that SMRT had reviewed operations to prevent similar incidents, and immediately ensured strict compliance with existing operating procedures. Audit processes have been refined, with the operator ensuring that thorough records of track access are maintained.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Anandan Bala argued that the safety measures were not difficult to implement, and should have been in place years ago. “Here, the breach was committed by workmen on the ground or station managers. This was done with approval from OCC,” he said.

Lim’s case is still before the courts. Another SMRT staff, control operations director Teo Wee Kiat, has been charged with failing to take necessary measures to ensure the safety of employees. If convicted, Lim could be jailed up to two years, fined or both. Teo faces up to two years’ jail, a maximum fine of S$200,000 or both. 

In a statement issued after sentencing, SMRT Trains managing director Lee Ling Wee said the operator accepted full responsibility. “We have comprehensively reviewed our safety protocols and procedures, and are determined to never again have a repeat of the 22 March 2016 tragedy,” he said. 

When contacted, Nasrulhudin’s older brother Nasri Najumudin declined to comment. ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY WONG PEI TING