She sues over workplace mishap with steel cage
THE metal cage, containing production material, started swaying in front of her.
(Top) Madam Poh Kwee Eng suffered a broken nose and wrists as well as several deep cuts, when she fell trying to stabilise the cage (bottom). --
As she reached out from the landing to steady it, Madam Poh Kwee Eng, 56, ended up plunging almost 6m from the third storey.
Both her wrists were broken as well as her nose and upper jaw bone. She also suffered several deep cuts to her face.
The incident happened in August 2004. Madam Poh was just five months into her job as a packer with Hua Goi company, which makes gaming cards.
Even today, Madam Poh suffers from stiffness in her shoulders, elbows and fingers.
After her fall, she filed a civil suit against the company. Last December, the High Court ruled in her favour and ordered damages to be paid to her.
Hua Goi appealed against the suit, but its appeal was turned down in April. Madam Poh is now entitled to claim compensation.
According to Madam Poh's lawyer, Ms Prasanna Devi of the Hoh Law Corporation, the exact amount will be determined later.
Enquiries into the incident revealed that on the day she fell, Madam Poh was working alone on the third storey of the company building.
She was hoisting the metal cage, controlled mechanically, from the second storey.
UNSTABLE CAGE
Court papers said that the cage would swing when it was being hoisted up or down.
To stabilise it, workers like Madam Poh would have to manually stop it before using the mechanical control to bring it into the shop unit.
She was sitting on a chair while operating the control to hoist the cage and was 1.5m metres from the edge of the shop unit then.
Madam Poh told the court that she didn't know what happened after she hoisted the cage.
She woke up several days later to find herself in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, and was later transferred to Ang Mo Kio Community Hospital.
She was told by her boss' son that one of the bolts of the metal cage broke as she was trying to stabilise it.
The cage plunged to the ground, taking Madam Poh along with it. She added that the company did not give her any safety equipment to protect her from a fall.
Also, there was no protective fencing or rail.
Her company argued that no one saw how she fell. In its defence, the company stated: 'All the equipment in question was under her sole control and management that day and only she could tell us the cause of the cage and her falling.
'Her evidence failed to show any negligence or breach of statutory duty on the defendant's part.'
However, in the original judgment, Justice Tay Yong Kwang said: 'In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I think common sense should prevail and common sense dictates that the plaintiff (Madam Poh) must have fallen when she walked up to stabilise the moving cage by holding onto it just before it plunged to the ground, dragging her along with it suddenly.
'There is no evidence to suggest that she was suicidal and had deliberately unhooked or otherwise caused the cage to fall.'
Justice's Tay original verdict was upheld when the appeal was heard in April.
Since her fall, Madam Poh has been unable to work.
She declined to be interviewed.
