Construction firm, director and employees charged over Tanjong Katong sinkhole
Ohin Construction, its managing director and other project leads have been charged with lapses over construction works done at a worksite in Tanjong Katong.
Managing director of Ohin Construction Ivan Ong arrives at the State Courts, on Jun 11, 2026, and a view of the Tanjong Katong Road South on Jul 27, 2025. (Photos: CNA/Wallace Woon, Ili Mansor)
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SINGAPORE: A construction firm, along with its managing director and other employees of the company, was charged in court on Thursday (Jun 11) with workplace safety or building control offences linked to the sinkhole that appeared in Tanjong Katong in July 2025.
A car fell into the sinkhole when it opened up along Tanjong Katong Road South on Jul 26, 2025, but the female driver was rescued by workers from a nearby construction site.
The area was adjacent to a PUB worksite where a 16m-deep shaft was being built to connect existing sewer lines.
Ohin Construction was handed eight charges, mostly under the Building Control Act, Workplace Safety and Health Act and Workplace Safety and Health (General Provisions) regulations.
The company was hired as a licensed specialist builder for ground support and stabilisation specialist building works at a worksite along Tanjong Katong Road South.
According to a joint statement by the Building Construction Authority (BCA), the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Land Transport Authority (LTA), the construction works involved soil strengthening works using jet grout piles and the casting of reinforced concrete caisson rings.
The company is accused of failing to ensure that the works were carried out according to approved structural plans.
It allegedly constructed jet grout piles with smaller diameters and failed to carry out the required jet grouting trial and other stipulated tests.
The firm also created additional openings in a caisson ring and horizontal grouting works at another ring that were not approved.
One of the caisson rings was allegedly cast in a non-circular shape instead of a uniformly circular one.
When the company became aware of a road depression along Tanjong Katong Road on Jul 15, 2025, it failed to immediately notify the Commissioner of Building Control, the charges stated.
The company is also accused of failing to take measures for the safety and health of its employees, including ensuring there was an adequate risk assessment and safe work procedure for horizontal grouting works.
Ohin Construction is also accused of failing to ensure that a video surveillance system was in good working order and operational at all times.
Six others were charged in relation to this case: Ohin Construction’s managing director, 64-year-old Ong Khiaw Yang Ivan; Yau Tze Yin, 49, the qualified person appointed to supervise the carrying out of structural works; Raajkumar Nadarajan, 58, the project director at the worksite adjacent to Tanjong Katong Road South; Kee Chen Siang, 39, the qualified person appointed to prepare the plans of the structural works and supervise their implementation; Sellappan Saravanakumar, 35, who was project manager at the worksite; and Senthilnathan Mathyalakan, a 56-year-old resident engineer.
Ong was handed six charges, the most among the accused.
A representative for Ohin Construction told the court that the company is under provisional liquidation.
The cases were adjourned to July.
The affected sections of Tanjong Katong Road South were closed for about a week to allow for government agencies to stabilise the ground by backfilling the sinkhole with liquefied stabilised soil.
The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) said last July it would convene an internal panel to investigate the cause of the sinkhole, while the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) would conduct an independent investigation into the incident.
BCA, MOM and LTA jointly said on Thursday they had completed their respective investigations into the sinkhole incident.
“BCA, MOM, and LTA take a serious view of any safety or compliance breaches that place the public at risk. This incident demonstrates the critical importance of proper supervision and adherence to safety protocols. Enforcement action will be taken against public sector agencies, companies and individuals who fail to fulfil their statutory duties,” they added.
Source: CNA/ll
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