SINGAPORE: Frustrated at a cement truck driver who would not stop washing his vehicle, a construction supervisor threw a stone onto the ground.
The stone ricocheted off some rubble and flew towards the driver, striking his foot at the part where it was not protected by his safety boots.
The driver’s foot swelled and he went to hospital with a fracture.
Lee Hock Seng, a 60-year-old Singaporean, was fined S$4,000 (US$2,930) by a district court on Monday (Apr 15) for one count of a rash act endangering personal safety.
The court heard that Lee was a supervisor assigned by his employer to work at a construction site at 9 Pasir Ris Drive 6, Hai Sing Catholic School on Sep 23, 2023.
The victim, 46-year-old Muthappa Naynar Visvalingam, was also assigned by his own employer to drive a cement mixer truck to the same site and unload cement there.
After the victim unloaded the cement that day, he drove the truck to the side and ascended a ladder to wash the discharging chute.
Lee, who was standing on a pile of rubble about 2m high, called out to the victim and told him to stop when he saw the victim washing the truck.
This was because Lee understood that washing was not allowed in the area for safety reasons.
The victim heard someone asking him to stop but did not pay attention to who was calling to him. He replied that he would finish what he was doing in five minutes.
However, when he was done washing the discharging chute, the victim descended from the ladder and continued washing other parts of his truck.
Lee had expected the victim to stop washing his vehicle once he got down from the ladder.
Frustrated, he picked up a stone and threw it to the ground, partly in annoyance and partly to get the victim’s attention, the court heard.
However, the stone ricocheted off some rubble and flew towards the victim, hitting the side of his left foot.
The victim was wearing safety boots with metal protection in front, but not at the side.
The victim felt pain from the impact and removed his boot to see swelling on his foot. He was taken to the accident and emergency department of Changi General Hospital that same day by his supervisor, and diagnosed with a metatarsal fracture.
He was treated with a backslab – a slab of plaster – to his foot, prescribed painkillers and given 14 days’ outpatient hospitalisation leave.
He returned to hospital on Oct 6 with mild swelling and tenderness over the fracture and was given another six days’ outpatient hospitalisation leave.
The victim’s medical expenses were covered by insurance.
“The stone thrown by the accused could not be identified by any persons at the site and was not seized by police officers,” said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sunil Nair.
He sought a fine of S$4,000 to S$5,000, or a short jail term, leaving the duration to the court.
For a rash act endangering personal safety, Lee could have been jailed for up to a year, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
