A coroner’s inquiry has revealed that the death of 57-year-old Michael Ong Kong Meng in a chain collision on the Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2022 marks the first known fatality in Singapore linked to a defective Takata airbag.
The incident took place on 10 October 2022 at about 8am, during a six-vehicle collision.
Mr Ong, whose vehicle was the fifth in the chain, was the only individual injured. His airbag deployed during the crash, unlike in the other vehicles involved.
A foreign metallic object from within the airbag was ejected and lodged in Mr Ong’s head, causing a fatal penetrating injury. He was taken unconscious to hospital in traumatic arrest and later pronounced dead.
The airbag in question is part of a global recall affecting millions of vehicles due to a known defect that causes airbags to eject metal shrapnel upon deployment.
According to the court, this flaw has killed more than a dozen people worldwide and caused serious injuries to many more.
Vehicle history and Takata recall details
According to the Land Transport Authority (LTA), Mr Ong’s vehicle had been registered in March 2009 and was originally imported by Hong Sin Motors, a now-defunct parallel importer.
Although Mr Ong did not purchase the car directly from Hong Sin, and it had changed ownership several times, LTA confirmed that the vehicle fell within the chassis number range identified in Honda Japan’s recall issued between 2012 and 2014.
The affected models included Honda Civic, City, Jazz, Stream, and Accord vehicles manufactured from 2002 to 2011.
There is no record that this particular vehicle was ever part of a reported recall or that its airbag module was replaced.
Hong Sin Motors did not notify LTA of any recall action. Before the Honda recall, LTA had sent three letters to the company on unrelated matters, all of which were returned.
This led LTA to determine that the business address on record was invalid.
Kah Motor, Honda’s authorised distributor in Singapore, stated that Mr Ong’s vehicle was not sold by them and thus was not part of its recall records.
Investigations into the airbag deployment
Senior Investigation Officer Firdaus Suleiman told the court that the impact of Mr Ong’s vehicle with the one ahead was “quite extensive”.
Of the six vehicles involved in the collision, only Mr Ong’s airbag deployed.
An autopsy revealed that a metal object, measuring 1.5cm in length and 2.2cm in diameter, had broken off from within the airbag assembly.
The object entered Mr Ong’s body through the mouth and travelled upward into the skull, resulting in a fatal injury.
His vehicle was otherwise found to be in serviceable condition.
SIO Firdaus confirmed that this marks the first fatality in Singapore linked to a Takata airbag deployment.
While global cases involving the same airbag defect also involved metal fragments being expelled, it could not be conclusively determined which specific internal component caused the fatal outcome in this case.
There was no in-car camera in Mr Ong’s vehicle.
LTA’s position on recall responsibility
Testifying in court, LTA’s Principal Engineer in Vehicle Safety and Control, Ng Lok Yee, explained that responsibility for identifying and notifying affected vehicles falls on dealers and importers, including parallel importers.
Under the vehicle recall framework, motor dealers and importers must verify if any of their vehicles are affected by manufacturer-issued recalls and inform both LTA and vehicle owners.
However, Mr Ng clarified that LTA does not have a statutory responsibility to notify vehicle owners directly.
Instead, it plays a “facilitative role” by monitoring recall data submitted by dealers and issuing advisory letters based on dealer-confirmed cases.
He stressed that without confirmation from the dealer, LTA cannot determine if a specific vehicle is affected.
He also said it is not operationally possible for LTA to independently contact car owners in such cases, especially for vehicles imported via defunct parallel importers like Hong Sin.
The LTA has an online system – the OneMotoring vehicle recall portal – where owners can check their vehicle’s recall status. Failure to comply with a recall order is an offence under the Road Traffic Act.
Recall statistics and compliance
As of June 2023, approximately 198,000 vehicles in Singapore were affected by the Takata airbag recall, with a rectification rate of 90 per cent. This increased to 94 per cent by the following year, involving 198,800 vehicles.
Kah Motor reported that 410 out of 415 affected Honda vehicles it sold during the relevant period had undergone component replacement. The remaining five owners had not responded to the recall.
The remaining 6 per cent of affected vehicles have been tracked, and LTA continues to monitor new notifications from manufacturers and importers.
Mr Ng described the number as “dynamic”, with figures changing as recalls evolve.
Questions from next-of-kin
Mr Ong’s widow, who was present in court with family members, was represented by counsel who raised several questions about LTA’s monitoring and enforcement practices.
These included whether LTA could retrospectively verify if a recall letter was issued based on chassis number and how LTA ensures road safety in the absence of dealer confirmation.
In response, Mr Ng explained that while a vehicle’s chassis number may fall within a recall range, not all vehicles in that range are necessarily affected. Only the dealer can confirm a match and initiate appropriate rectification steps.
Mr Ng reaffirmed that it is the legal obligation of the importing dealer to notify LTA and owners.
In this case, as Hong Sin Motors was unreachable, the notification and repair processes could not be confirmed or completed.
The coroner’s inquiry has been adjourned for a subsequent hearing.
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