SINGAPORE: A man who used a forged certificate to gain employment as a formwork supervisor was sentenced to six weeks’ jail on Thursday (Feb 24).
Formwork is a mould which concrete or similar materials are poured into.
Hanif Miah Md Nurul Islam pleaded guilty to offences under the Workplace Safety and Health Act.
He had obtained a forged Formwork Safety Course for Supervisors certificate for a fee in 2015 without undergoing the required training, said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in a news release on Thursday.
Between September and December 2020, he was appointed as a formwork supervisor on at least four occasions based on the forged certificate.
MOM began investigations in February 2021, after it was approached by a sub-contractor to verify the authenticity of Hanif’s certificates.
It was then discovered that he did not receive any safety and health training that was “required for him to be familiar with the hazards associated with the construction, erection, alteration or dismantling of formwork”.
“Formwork operations are complex and dangerous, and poor installation or dismantling of formwork may result in the collapse of the entire formwork structure,” said MOM.
“Hanif’s actions thus placed himself, workers under his supervision, and other workers at the worksite, at risk of serious harm.”
Hanif was also found to have obtained forged certificates for the Metal Scaffolding Erection Course and the Supervision of Metal Scaffolding Erection Course.
“Hanif showed a blatant disregard for the law and the importance of training,” said MOM’s director of Occupational Safety and Health Inspectorate, Sebastian Tan.
“Although it is fortunate that no harm arose from his actions, his lack of training could have led to very serious accidents.”
He added that proper training and certification are essential for work to be performed safely, especially for such high-risk activities.
“We will also not hesitate to prosecute offenders who forge their safety credentials and endanger others,” he added.
Source : Channel News Asia
