A 35-year-old worker has been killed in a forklift accident at a Housing Board project site at Keat Hong Link, bringing the total number of workplace fatalities this year to 29.

The Indian national was standing on the rear counterweight of a forklift while tying an electrical cable onto the side of an overhead beam when the forklift moved backwards suddenly.

He was caught between the forklift’s canopy and the beam and was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, where he later died.

The Ministry of Manpower is investigating the accident and has instructed Teambuild Engineering & Construction to stop all works at the site.

MOM warns that as a general safety measure, a forklift should only be used for "its intended purposes".

Singapore recently introduced harsher penalties for companies with poor workplace safety and health performance.