September 06, 2007 04:58pm
Article from: AAP

A MELBOURNE company has been convicted and fined $300,000 over the death of a 26-year-old man who was electrocuted while changing a light bulb at work.

Sion (Sion) Rees, an employee of Camden Neon Pty Ltd, was changing light bulbs in a display at a car yard in Sydney Road, Coburg, on April 18 last year, when he was electrocuted.

The Victorian County Court was told Mr Rees, from Sunbury, north of Melbourne, had been using a screwdriver to remove broken glass from a light fitting.

He was not given insulated equipment and was not instructed to turn the power off before changing the globes.

Camden Neon, which is based at Tullamarine, in Melbourne's north, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe work environment.

Judge Sue Pullen said today that safety procedures at the company were grossly insufficient and workers were lacking in the most basic instructions.

"The very tragic fact of this is that Sion Rees was electrocuted," Judge Pullen told the court.

"Culpability of the company in my opinion is very high.

"No doubt the death of Sion has caused a lot of grief to the family.

"Nothing can be done or said to compensate the family."

Judge Pullen said she had taken into account when sentencing that the company had pleaded guilty and had cooperated with the Victorian WorkCover Authority in its investigation of the incident.

She convicted Neon Camden Pty Ltd and fined the company $300,000.

The maximum penalty is a fine of $943,200.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22373787-29277,00.html