Eldercare firm fined $7k after client died from wheelchair incident

Two employees of an eldercare services provider were helping clients board its van when one of the senior citizens fell off the vehicle's wheelchair lift platform and his head struck the ground.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Mr Hassan Mohamed Karchi Arsan Osman, 76, was unconscious when he was taken to the National University Hospital on Feb 3, 2021, and died of a head injury at 9:35 pm that day.

On June 3, Active Global Respite Care was fined $7,000 after it was convicted of an offence under the Workplace Safety and Health (Risk Management) Regulations.

Court documents stated that it failed to implement safety control measures and safe work procedures governing the use of the wheelchair lift at the rear of the van.

Two people, who were working for the company when the incident took place, were each fined $10,000 in December 2023.

Myanmar national Moe Thadar, then 49, was a healthcare assistant at the time, while Singaporean Kwa Kim Seng, then 67, was employed as a van driver.

They failed to ensure that the brakes of Mr Hassan's wheelchair were engaged, causing his death.

For the current case, Ministry of Manpower prosecutor Kimberly Boo told the court that Active Global Respite Care owned two vans used for transporting elderly clients between their homes and a senior care centre at Block 31A Ghim Moh Link.