Engineer in fatal crane collapse 'not liable for damages'
Published on Mar 5, 2012
The crane collapsed at the NUS worksite in 2008, killing three workers. -- ST PHOTO: JOYCE FANG
By K. C. Vijayan, Law Correspondent
The Court of Appeal has cleared an engineer from having to pay damages over a tower crane collapse that killed three workers.
The apex court's decision reversed a High Court ruling last year which found Mr Tan Juay Pah liable to crane supplier Rango Machinery Services, which in turn had to compensate main contractor Kimly Construction for the mishap.
The court, in 66-page judgment grounds released last Friday, ruled that Kimly and Rango cannot shift the blame for the accident to Mr Tan, who had been hired to certify the crane fit for use.
Allowing Kimly and Rango to do this would be tantamount to using Mr Tan as 'insurance cover for the mishap', said the appeals court.
Read the full story in Monday's edition of The Straits Times.
