Bakery owner, 73, dies after falling into dough-making machine

Workers who noticed a burning smell were shocked to find Mr Ng Sew Kuang in the machine.ST PHOTO: ONG WEE JIN.

SINGAPORE: A 73-year-old man died in an accident in a Bedok confectionery on Monday (June 25).

Ng Sew Kuang, the elderly owner of Ng Kian Seng Confectionery in Bedok, died after he fell into a dough-making machine while preparing red bean paste.

Workers who noticed a burning smell coming from the machines on the second-storey were shocked to find Ng in the machine.

A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) spokesman said that it responded to an incident at Block 17 Bedok South Road at 3.05pm.

A police spokesman said they were alerted at 3.06pm and a 73-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

One of the workers identified the victim as her boss. In a feature on the confectionery in 2014, The Straits Times identified him as Mr Ng Sew Kuong.

The woman, who declined to be named, said: “No one was around him when the incident took place, but a strong burning smell made us suspect something was wrong.”

Zhu Xiao Wei, who works at the beauty salon next to the bakery, said Ng’s daughter rushed into her salon to ask her to call for an ambulance.

“I thought it was a minor accident at first. I still can’t believe that he died,” she said.

Zhu added that she was close with Ng, whom she had known for about seven years.

“Being neighbours, we talk all the time. He was a very warm person and everyone here knew him. I’ve seen the machines upstairs before and they are all very big. I can’t imagine how his last moments must have felt, being trapped in one of them.”

In its 2014 feature, ST said that for the past 39 years, Ng and his wife, Madam Lee Sai Kiow, started work every day at 4am and still made everything by hand and from scratch.

The bakery, started by Mr Ng’s paternal grandfather more than 70 years ago, is known for its traditional goodies, such as tau sar piah and wife cakes. - The Straits Times/Asia News Network