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Fatigue in the news

Findings, prosecutions and regulation changes on workplace fatigue in Singapore, newest first.

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Stories and regulation changes

7 upcoming regulation changesAffecting 33 industries

July 2024

  • Story · Jul 2024 · At sea, South China Sea

    Tanker collision: officer of the watch had under 2 hours' rest in 38.5

    • Safety

    In 2024 a Singapore-registered tanker collided with another tanker in the South China Sea; both ships caught fire and a shore worker on the other tanker later died. Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau found the officer of the watch had under two hours' unbroken rest in the 38.5 hours before his midnight watch and was likely fatigued. He had joined after overnight travel, and an unannounced fire-alarm test woke him.

    Case SG-maritime-01Report an issue

May 2023

  • Story · May 2023 · Singapore

    Minibus driver who fell asleep from lack of rest kills pedestrian on zebra crossing

    • Safety
    • Legal

    A minibus driver carrying young children briefly fell asleep at the wheel around midday because of a lack of rest, failed to see a pedestrian on a zebra crossing and struck her; she died six days later. The driver, then in his late 60s, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention causing death. The judge named his fatigue, and the risk it posed to others, as an aggravating factor and imposed jail and an eight-year driving ban.

    Case SG-transport-02Report an issue

June 2021

  • Story · Jun 2021 · Singapore

    Bus captain on 4 hours' sleep closes eyes for 3 seconds and crashes; jailed 12 weeks

    • Safety
    • Legal

    A public bus captain who had slept only about four hours before starting a 5:30am shift dozed off at the wheel mid-afternoon, closing his eyes for about three seconds before the bus crashed into a bus stop bollard. Three of the ten passengers were injured, including fractures. The prosecution told the court the crash was caused by his lack of sleep; he was jailed for 12 weeks and banned from driving for five years. The operator said its roster gave at least nine hours' rest between shifts, a reminder that a compliant roster does not guarantee that sleep was actually obtained.

    Case SG-transport-01Report an issue

April 2018

  • Story · Apr 2018 · Singapore

    Military inquiry: unauthorised night punishment cut trainees' rest before fatal fast march

    • Safety
    • Financial

    A full-time national serviceman collapsed with heat stroke during an 8km fast march and later died. A military Committee of Inquiry found that the night before, commanders had held unauthorised physical punishment that cut the platoon's required seven hours of uninterrupted rest to about six hours 15 minutes, even though the pre-march safety check asked whether trainees had that rest. The inquiry listed accumulated fatigue and insufficient rest among the possible contributing causes, and the commanders involved were removed from command.

    Case SG-defence-01Report an issue

December 2017

  • Story · Dec 2017 · Singapore

    Guard on 10 straight 12-hour shifts faints on patrol; fatigue held work-related

    • Safety
    • Legal

    In 2017 a security officer who had worked 12-hour shifts for ten straight days without a rest day fainted on patrol, fell and suffered a serious spinal injury. The Assistant Commissioner for Labour found that tiredness from his employment caused or contributed to the fainting, and in 2020 the High Court upheld the work injury compensation award.

    Case SG-security-01Report an issue

March 2013

  • Story · Mar 2013 · Singapore

    Casino officer 24h+ without sleep dozes at wheel, hits worker lorry; jailed

    • Safety
    • Legal
    • Financial

    In 2013 a casino surveillance officer, driving after a 12-hour shift that ended the evening before and a night out, dozed off on an expressway and hit the back of a lorry carrying workers; one man died and others were injured. On the prosecution's appeal in 2014, the High Court found she had gone more than 24 hours without proper sleep, and replaced her fine with jail.

    Case SG-security-02Report an issue

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A sample workforce snapshot on a tablet: modelled sleep problems and the cost of poor sleep for 1,400 people in transport and logistics.