Crane's safety switch may have been tampered with, says DOSH DG

KUALA LUMPUR: One of the safety switches of the crane involved in a freak accident that killed a woman driver on Aug 25 might have been tampered with.
Department of Occupational Safety and Health director-general Datuk Mohtar Musri said if the safety limit switch, which limits the movement of crane booms within the stipulated hoarding, was working, the boom would have been blocked from operating outside the compound.
"Cranes are equipped with various safety equipment, including the safety limit switch. If the boom was operating outside the hoarding, this switch would cut off the power supply to the crane.
"In this case, maybe the switch had been tampered with, leading to the accident. But we are still investigating the matter," he told a press conference after launching the Occupational Safety and Health at Petrol Stations awareness campaign, here, today.
Mohtar explained that every construction site has its own safety hoardings, within which all the machinery, including cranes, are confined to.
Chim Khoon Sing, who was driving a Perodua Kelisa, lost her life when a 300kg hoist block of the crane at the construction site gave way and crushed her car at Jalan Raja Chulan, near Pavillion Mall.
Mohtar said the department was also in the midst of preparing an investigation paper on action to be taken against the contractor in charge of the construction site.
He, however, said detailed information on the cause of the accident could not be revealed to the public yet as it would be used for the prosecution process, and that he would discuss with the Attorney-General's Chambers on legal actions.
"We are looking at Section 8 and 29 of the Factories and Machinery Act 1967 which carry a maximum fine of RM100,000 or two years imprisonment or both, and a couple other sections under the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994.
It is learnt that Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) (M) Sdn Bhd is the lead contractor for the hotel project by Harmoni Perkasa Sdn Bhd near Pavilion KL, with Yekon Equipment (M) Sdn Bhd being the crane equipment owner and Sufiyan Enterprise, the crane operator.
Following the incident, a stop-work order was issued by DOSH on Aug 26 against the construction site.
On Sept 2, police told theSun that the crane operator, a 51-year-old Indonesian, had fled the country barely two days after the incident, and has been placed on Interpol's Red Notice list – an alert notice against a person wanted by national jurisdictions for prosecution or to serve a sentence based on an arrest warrant or court decision.
Meanwhile, Mohtar said DOSH would discuss with other ministries and agencies on fining those caught smoking or using their handphones at petrol stations.
"There are already laws for those caught smoking in air-conditioned areas, where the public could be fined. But it is the enforcement part that is a bit difficult.
"People wouldn't be happy with the move. So for now, the best way is to provide them with awareness of the dangers they pose when at petrol stations," he said.