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SINGAPORE: A construction company was fined S $ 56,500 for damaging a water main and conducting unauthorized works on Dunearn Road in September 2019, cutting off water supplies to nearly 40 homes in the area.
Feng Ming Construction was convicted last month of damaging a 500mm diameter water pipe and fined S $ 55,000, PUB said in a press release on Monday (September 14).
This is the highest fine imposed by state courts for water pipe damage under the Public Utilities Law to date, the agency added.
The company was also convicted and fined S $ 1,500 for carrying out unauthorized sheet pile installation works.
“SUBSTANTIAL LOSS” OF DRINKING WATER
On September 20, 2019, Feng Ming Construction was carrying out sheet pile work on Dunearn Road as part of the road widening project in the Bukit Timah area.
When a stacker machine drove a steel sheet pile into the ground, it pierced a 500mm diameter main water pipe to a depth of 2.5m below the road surface, PUB said.
“PUB was alerted and immediately went to the scene to isolate the leak and carry out urgent repair work, which exposed a hole of about 100mm by 30mm in the main pipe,” the agency said.
“The damage caused a substantial loss of approximately 468,000 liters of drinking water, enough to fill approximately one-fifth of an Olympic-size swimming pool.”
Water supplies to 38 homes in the area were interrupted for about nine and a half hours as a result of the incident, PUB said. A water cart was deployed and bags of water were provided to affected households.
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Investigations showed that Feng Ming Construction was aware of the existence of an underground water pipe, as stated in PUB’s water service plan.
“However, the contractor had not conducted a sufficient trial evaluation of the trenching to physically determine the exact location and alignment of the main,” PUB said.
Under the Public Utilities Act, the penalty for damaging a water main or connecting pipe with a diameter of 300mm or more is a fine of up to Singapore $ 200,000, a jail term of up to three years, or both.
This was the second time that Feng Ming Construction was convicted of damaging a large water pipe, PUB added.
The company was also convicted and fined S $ 40,000 for damaging a 300mm diameter water pipe at Geylang Lorong 1 in October 2013.
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In relation to the works on Dunearn Road in 2019, the firm had also started sheet piling work without submitting a plan for PUB approval as required, the agency said.
Under the Public Services (Water Pipeline Infrastructure Protection) Regulations 2017, contractors installing sheet piles or any other similar installation must ensure that the activity is carried out according to an approved plan.
