SINGAPORE - A construction worker who was involved in the running of an illegal dormitory that caught fire in 2015 has been jailed for two weeks and fined $24,000 on Thursday .
Raihan, 43, a Bangladesh national, will have to serve an additional six weeks in jail if he is unable to pay the fine. Illegal dormitory operator Neo Wee Seng, 47, was earlier charged and court proceedings are under way. Without approval, Neo turned the shophouse, which was meant only for residential purposes, into a dormitory with multiple rooms and 53 beds.
Neo knew about the inspection and instructed Raihan to move all the residents out of the premises. Raihan also obstructed the officers from doing their duty as it hid the true state of the premises, said the prosecution.Just over a week later, a fire - believed to be from an electrical defect - broke out on the second floor. Two workers died of smoke inhalation.