Director gets jail, company fined half a million over 2021 Tuas explosion that killed 3
The director had operated a heated mixing machine from China based on incorrect assumptions he came up with himself instead of getting guidance from the manufacturer.
Lwin Moe Tun (left) and Chua Xing Da arriving at the State Courts on Jun 25, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ooi Boon Keong)
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SINGAPORE: Five years after an explosion at a Tuas industrial plant killed three workers and injured seven others, a company director has been sentenced to jail and the firm fined for workplace safety lapses.
Chua Xing Da, a 42-year-old Singaporean, had operated a heated mixing machine from China based on incorrect assumptions he came up with himself instead of getting guidance from the manufacturer.
As a result of the unsafe use of the machine, including not using enough heating oil and operating the mixer as a closed rather than open system, an explosion at the industrial building at 32E Tuas Avenue 11 on Feb 24, 2021, killed three workers who suffered 90 per cent burns.
They are: 38-year-old Indian national Mr Subbaiyan Marimuthu and Mr Anisuzzaman Md, 29, and Mr Shohel Md, 23, who were from Bangladesh.
Seven others, including five workers from Stars Engrg and two from a neighbouring unit, suffered serious burn injuries.
Chua was sentenced to jail for 18 months and one week on Thursday (Jun 25). He was convicted of two counts of workplace safety lapses and one count of obstructing justice by telling his employee it was “ok” to delete texts about an unsafe work practice.
The company that operated the industrial plant installing fire protection systems, Stars Engrg, was given a fine of half a million dollars.
Production manager Lwin Moe Tun, a 36-year-old Myanmar national, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail for obstructing justice by deleting messages and photos. He was cleared of a third charge for workplace safety lapses.
The case had gone to trial, with Chua’s lawyer saying this was not for lack of remorse but to tell the court what he did or did not do.
District Judge Tan Jen Tse accepted that the company and Chua had taken many steps towards ensuring general safety standards, such as sending workers for training, issuing personal protective equipment and keeping factory premises clean.
However, he noted that Chua was personally involved in setting up the mixer and teaching workers how to operate and maintain it. He attempted to find solutions when issues arose, and he was the only one who could authorise repairs on the mixer.
The company had purchased the mixer from a manufacturer in China called LaiZhou Keda Chemical Machinery Co for US$11,700 around August 2019.
Judge Tan said the mixer was a fairly simple machine from a reputable manufacturer, and that it was incumbent on Stars and Chua to use it properly and safely.
He said the company and Chua had failed to ensure the machine was used properly, and that there were better practicable means as an alternative to Chua trying to determine with his “incomplete knowledge” how the mixer was to be used.
The manufacturer of the machine “was more than willing to provide assistance”, said the judge, pointing to a WhatsApp chat Chua had with a representative from the manufacturer, who was “helpful” and took initiative.
When issues began arising with the mixer, Chua did not alert the manufacturer or seek advice, even though the problems started within the warranty period.
Instead, he took it upon himself to troubleshoot despite having a flawed knowledge of how the mixer worked, said Judge Tan.
Chua and the company also did not consult the manufacturer as to whether the welding repairs Chua conducted or heat insulation he had installed were proper, noted the judge.
SENTENCING ARGUMENTS
The prosecution had sought a fine of S$600,000 to S$800,000 for Stars, 20 months and two weeks’ jail to 24 months and four weeks’ jail for Chua, and six to eight weeks’ jail for Moe.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Timotheus Koh said Stars’ failures resulted in the explosion which killed three and injured seven, five of whom were permanently disfigured.
The explosion also caused extensive property damage, including the partial collapse of the rear wall of the worksite. Rear window panels from a neighbouring company were also blasted out of their frames.
Mr Koh said Chua’s culpability was high, as he personally made “all the critical decisions that gave rise to Stars’ failures”.
He decided the amount of oil to be used, to incorrectly operate the mixer as a closed system and to make inappropriate modifications to the machine, said Mr Koh.
He also charged that Chua ignored several red flags that led up to the explosion.
As for Moe, who deleted texts relevant to the investigation after the explosion, he did so to protect himself and to avoid being involved in the investigations, said Mr Koh.
Defence counsels Mr Chia Boon Teck and Mr Foo Cheow Ming did not challenge that harm was high in this case, saying they could not do this “in good conscience” since there were three deaths and multiple serious injuries.
Mr Chia said Chua wanted his “day in court” to tell the court what he did or did not do, and he was prepared to “face the music”.
He said Chua’s errors were rooted in mistaken assumptions and incomplete knowledge, and that this pointed to negligence rather than wilful disregard.
He said there was no evidence they ran risks to save money.
After the explosion, Chua went out of his way with the Ministry of Manpower to plug gaps and address lapses in the industry’s safe work procedure, culminating in his preparation of a report spanning over 400 pages.
He also facilitated MOM’s issuance of new rules protecting workers handling combustible dust and high-risk machinery, said the lawyer.
The court allowed Chua and Moe to defer their jail terms to July, and allowed the company to pay the S$500,000 fine in instalments by July 2027.
Source: CNA/ll(rj)
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