Humans Aren't Cargo

Straits Times Forum: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-not-good-enough-to-just-show-sympathy-each-time-theres-an-accident-involving PUBLISHED APR 27, 2021, 4:00 AM SGT FACEBOOK TWITTER I refer to the letters " Unsafe mode of transportation for migrant workers has continued for years " and " Take care of migrant workers as we do our own children " (April 23), and agree that Singapore needs to mandate safe transport solutions for foreign workers. Cost is often cited as a reason why lorries are used as a transportation mode, but some companies are able to provide buses for migrant workers. Why is it that they are able to do so and others are unable to? Is it because some companies, in trying to offer the lowest bid or to maximise profit, are willing to forgo basic safety? Keeping costs down should not stop Singapore from doing the right thing. The Government should take action. Back in 2010, owing to another accident that killed a few foreign workers, th...

 Channel NewsAsia: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/transporting-workers-in-lorries-accident-calls-for-review-14701920 By  Chew Hui Min 27 Apr 2021 02:26PM (Updated:  28 Apr 2021 04:15PM ) SINGAPORE: Rubel, a migrant worker who has worked in Singapore for 10 years, has travelled both by lorry and by bus while working in Singapore. While he now lives at his worksite, he recalls how sitting at the back of a lorry can be "a nightmare". It was cramped and uncomfortable, and when the vehicle swerved, the workers could reel from the force.  On rainy days, workers would be drenched, even when there was a canopy on the lorry. They would usually cover themselves with large plastic bags to try to fend off the rain, he said. "When I came to Singapore in the beginning, I used to travel by lorry. (On) rainy days, there was no shelter, even if there was shelter (it was) not able to stop the raining coming in," he told CNA. The practice of ferrying workers b...

  25 Apr 2021 09:06AM, Channel NewsAsia SINGAPORE: Ten men were taken to hospital after an accident involving a lorry along Upper Bukit Timah Road on Saturday (Apr 24) morning. The 35-year-old lorry driver as well as nine passengers aged between 26 and 50 were conscious when taken to hospital, said police, adding that they were alerted to the accident at around 7.20am. All 10 were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, said the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Police investigations are ongoing. The accident comes just four days after a lorry carrying migrant workers collided with a stationary tipper truck along the Pan Island Expressway, killing two and injuring 15. The lorry driver was arrested for careless driving causing death. Source: CNA/hs

 Ang Qing, Straits Times 25 April 2021 SINGAPORE - Ten men were taken to hospital after an accident involving a lorry in Upper Bukit Timah Road on Saturday morning (April 24). This came just four days after  another lorry carrying foreign workers collided with a stationary tipper truck  on the Pan-Island Expressway on Tuesday.  That accident killed tw o and left 15 injured. The police said they were alerted to Saturday's incident, near The Rail Mall, at around 7.20am. The 35-year-old driver and nine passengers aged between 26 and 50 were conscious when taken to the hospital, they added. All of them were taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, according to the Singapore Civil Defence Force. Photos of the scene showed the lorry flipped on its side and its canopy lying on the road. Several passengers were seen sitting next to the vehicle. Police investigations are ongoing.

 Jean Lau, The Straits Times 24 April 2021 Mrs Sugunan Shanthi was worried about losing her son to Covid-19 but in the end, it was a road accident that took his life. PHOTO: COURTESY OF SUGUNAN SHANTHI SINGAPORE - Every night, Mrs Sugunan Shanthi would wait for her son's call so that her worries about his contracting Covid-19 would be eased. Nearing midnight on Monday (April 19), Mr Sugunan Sudheeshmon's call to tell his mother that he was safe and had just got back to his dormitory in Tuas finally came. That was the last time the construction worker spoke to his mother. Mrs Sugunan, 50, was worried about losing her son to Covid-19 but in the end, it was a road accident that took his life. Hours after their last conversation, Mr Sugunan, 28, was travelling on the back of a lorry when it crashed into a stationary tipper truck on the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE). He  died on Thursday night. A distraught Mrs Sugunan, who is from the southern Indian state of Kerala, told The Strait...

 Straits Times Forum: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-unsafe-mode-of-transportation-for-migrant-workers-has-continued-for-years PUBLISHED APR 23, 2021, 4:00 AM SGT FACEBOOK TWITTER In 2010, Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) issued a plea for workers to be transported in minivans or buses with proper seating and safety belts rather than in the back of lorries. More than a decade has passed, yet this unsafe transportation practice continues. Migrant workers rarely have a choice in the form of transportation they use, because their dormitories and their worksites are not well served by public transport systems, and also because the employers are expected to provide dedicated transport to lessen exposure of the workers to the public. We understand that vehicles are costly and that employers tend to use the same lorries to transport both equipment and workers. But considering migrant workers build our offices, homes, highways and physical infrastructure, they shou...

Straits Times Forum: https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/forum/forum-take-care-of-migrant-workers-as-we-do-our-own-children PUBLISHED APR 23, 2021, 4:00 AM SGT FACEBOOK TWITTER It is time to ensure safe transportation for migrant workers ( PIE accident leaves one dead, 16 injured, April 21 ). This is not the first time such an accident has occurred and injuries sustained. When our children ride in cars or school buses (which are safer than the backs of trucks), they are legally required to be strapped to their seats.   When someone else's child comes to Singapore to earn a living, it should also be our responsibility to ensure he is taken care of in the same way. I appeal to the authorities to pass a law to ensure the safety of workers being transported. Angie Chew

TODAY ,  By  NG JUN SEN 21 April 2021 A migrant worker died and 16 others were injured in an accident involving a lorry and a tipper truck on April 20 People are calling for the authorities to ban the practice of transporting workers in the back of lorries Others want to see more safety features such as seat belts Some insiders in the construction industry said these suggestions will need to be reviewed holistically SINGAPORE — For construction worker Md Sharif Uddin, 42, his daily work commute in the back of a lorry is always a terrifying experience. “I am always emotionally uncomfortable (in the lorry). I am terrified. Because there have already been many accidents,” the Bangladeshi safety coordinator at a construction company told TODAY on Wednesday (April 21). Describing how migrant workers like him have come to accept that this is how they get to work, Mr Uddin said that these lorry rides could mean hours of braving the sun and rain, sitting in a mandated 8-sqf minimum sp...

TODAY By LOW YOUJIN Published APRIL 21, 2021 Tofazzal Hossain, 33, died as a result of injuries sustained in an accident on the PIE on April 20, 2021. The migrant worker was travelling in the rear of a lorry that crashed into a stationary vehicle. The extended family of Tofazzal Hossain, 33, relied on his Singapore income He leaves behind a two-year-old son, his wife, ailing parents and five siblings He last visited Bangladesh in 2018, the year he got married SINGAPORE — The migrant worker who died in an accident along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Tuesday (April 20) morning was a 33-year-old Bangladeshi who leaves behind a two-year-old son, widow and other family members, all of whom relied on his income. The deceased, Tofazzal Hossain, was also very close to his 57-year-old mother, said the man’s brother Abdul Haziz. Mr Abdul, 27, told TODAY on Wednesday through a Bengali interpreter that his mother has yet to be informed of his brother’s death as the family is worried that she ...

The Straits Times , 21 April 2021  Ang Qing  and  Nilanjana Sengupta Mr Toffazal Hossain, died after the lorry he was in collided with a stationary tipper truck on the Pan-Island Expressway. PHOTO: TOFAZZAL PATWARY/FACEBOOK SINGAPORE - A phone call about Ramadan between Mr Zahirul Islam and his nephew Toffazal Hossain a few days ago turned out to be their last. Mr Toffazal, 33, died after  an accident on the Pan-Island Expressway  on Tuesday morning (April 20) on the way to a worksite in Woodlands. The Bangladeshi national was one of 17 migrant workers travelling in the back of a lorry that collided with a stationary tipper truck. "I just spoke to him two days ago to ask if he could fast at his dormitory," said Mr Zahirul, 34, a safety coordinator who stays at another dorm in Kranji. He added that Mr Toffazal had been anxious to return home after paying for his mother's open heart surgery, but did not have enough funds to do so. "Around six months ago, he called...

  By  NAVENE ELANGOVAN , TODAY 20 April 2021 SINGAPORE — The police have arrested a 36-year-old man following a fatal accident along the Pan-Island Expressway (PIE) on Tuesday (April 20) morning that resulted in the death of a migrant worker. In response to queries from TODAY, the police said that the accident involved a lorry and a stationary tipper truck along the PIE towards Changi Airport, before the Jalan Bahar exit.  The police added that they were alerted to it at 6.06am. All 17 male passengers in the lorry, aged between 23 and 46, were sent to the National University Hospital and Ng Teng Fong General Hospital. Two were unconscious.  The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said that two people were found trapped at the rear compartment of the lorry.  "SCDF rescued the persons using hydraulic rescue equipment," it said in response to queries from TODAY. A 33-year-old man who was a passenger in the lorry subsequently died from his injuries, said the police...