Coroner confirms first Takata airbag-linked fatality in Singapore following 2022 SLE collision
A coroner’s inquiry has confirmed that the 2022 death of 57-year-old Michael Ong Kong Meng in a six-vehicle collision on the Seletar Expressway was Singapore’s first fatality linked to a defective Takata airbag. The incident exposed regulatory gaps involving defunct importers and vehicle recall enforcement.
- Michael Ong’s 2022 death was Singapore’s first confirmed fatality linked to a defective Takata airbag that expelled metal fragments during deployment.
- LTA told the inquiry that defunct importers like Hong Sin Motors complicate recall enforcement, as the agency cannot directly notify affected vehicle owners.
- As of 2024, about 94 per cent of nearly 199,000 recalled vehicles in Singapore have had defective Takata airbags replaced.
A coroner’s inquiry has determined that the death of 57-year-old Michael Ong Kong Meng during a six-vehicle collision on the Seletar Expressway (SLE) in 2022 marks Singapore’s first known fatality caused by a defective Takata airbag.
The fatal crash occurred on 10 October 2022 at around 8am. Mr Ong’s car was the fifth vehicle in the chain collision and the only one in which the airbag deployed. A foreign metallic object was expelled from the airbag and penetrated Mr Ong’s head, causing fatal injuries.
He was taken to hospital in traumatic arrest but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. According to findings presented in court, the airbag’s internal component ruptured upon deployment, ejecting a metallic fragment that travelled through Mr Ong’s mouth into his skull. This failure matches the defect at the centre of a global recall involving millions of Takata airbags, which have caused over a dozen deaths and numerous serious injuries worldwide.
Court documents revealed that Mr Ong’s car was first registered in March 2009 and imported by Hong Sin Motors, a now-defunct parallel importer. Although the car changed ownership several times, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) confirmed that its chassis number fell within the range of vehicles covered under Honda Japan’s recall notices issued between 2012 and 2014.
The recall affected multiple Honda models, including the Civic, City, Jazz, Stream, and Accord, manufactured from 2002 to 2011. There is no record that the specific vehicle in question was ever repaired or included in a confirmed recall action. Hong Sin Motors failed to notify LTA or affected owners, and correspondence sent to the company by LTA was returned undelivered. This prompted LTA to determine that the importer’s registered business address was invalid.
