Tuas fatal blast: Firm fined $500k, director jailed

Chua was convicted of instigating him to delete the messages.

During earlier proceedings, the DPPs said Chua and Lwin Moe Tun oversaw the production of fire-retardant wraps at the worksite.

These wraps comprised an aluminium sheet exterior and were made of various layers, including a clay-like lining that Stars called “fire clay”.

The fire clay was manufactured at the worksite using a mixer machine that Stars purchased in August 2019. It was installed at the worksite in June 2020.

The mixer machine had an oil jacket meant to contain “heat transfer fluid” and transfer heat from built-in heaters to the contents of the machine’s mixing chamber.

The machine came with two resistance temperature detectors (RTDs).

Under Chua’s direction, the mixer machine was operated with insufficient oil, causing overheating and over-pressure within its oil jacket.

The RTDs were also not used properly, with no proper temperature control or monitoring within the oil jacket.

This caused the jacket to rupture, leading to the release of pressurised oil out of it and forming a liquid aerosol that was ignited, resulting in the explosion.

Prosecutors said Chua knew the mixer machine was unsafe for use, after several “red flag” incidents, including a fire occurring near a drain valve at the bottom of the oil jacket.

Prosecutors said instead of investigating, Chua ignored the red flags, making the mixer machine unsafe to use.

During the trial, Chua said he did not think the incidents such as the fire and the leakage were red flags.

After the explosion, Chua knew that Lwin Moe Tun had Subbaiyan’s phone.

The phone contained messages between Lwin Moe Tun and Subbaiyan about the unsafe changing of a faulty heater on the device.

Chua told Lwin Moe Tun it was “ok” to delete these messages from the Myanmar national’s phone.

Lwin Moe Tun admitted he had deleted messages from his phone and from Subbaiyan’s as he did not want to be involved in the investigations.

Deputy public prosecutors Timotheus Koh, Grace Chua and Mohamed Riasudeen sought a fine of between $600,000 and $800,000 for Stars, and a jail term of 20 to 24 months and two to four weeks for Chua.

They said Stars’ conduct resulted in multiple deaths, serious injuries and serious property damage, all of which could have been prevented if Stars and Chua had taken the operation of the machine more seriously.

The DPPs added: “Stars committed multiple serious failures in not taking reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the mixer machine was safe for use and that its employees operated the mixer machine in a safe environment.”

This included how Stars had operated the mixer machine with insufficient heating oil, incorrectly used it as a closed system, failed to monitor the oil jacket temperature, made inappropriate modifications on the mixer machine and ignored the red-flag incidents regarding the mixer machine.

They added that as Chua was the sole director of Stars, he was the person who was responsible for its unsafe work practices, as he made all the critical decisions that led to the company’s failures.

On his obstruction of justice charge, the DPPs noted that Chua only informed the police about the deleted messaged in April 2021, close to two months after the deletion.

For Lwin Moe Tun, the DPPs asked for a jail term of six to eight weeks.

Chua and Lwin Moe Tun will begin serving their sentences on July 23.