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Complaints made about faulty lift before fatal mishap

SINGAPORE — At least three complaints were lodged over three months about a lift at a block of public housing flats in Pasir Ris, before a 77-year-old man died while using that same lift.

SINGAPORE — At least three complaints were lodged over three months about a lift at a block of public housing flats in Pasir Ris, before a 77-year-old man died while using that same lift.

This was revealed in court on Thursday by the investigation officer for the accident, at the start of a coroner’s inquiry into the death of Lim Hang Chiang.

In May last year, Lim fell backwards and hit his head on the floor while reversing his mobility scooter out of the misaligned lift car, which had stopped about 15cm above ground level. He went into a coma and died the next day in hospital.

The complaints about the lift made by residents of Block 247, Pasir Ris Street 21, surfaced after the connecting wires between the landing door panels of the lift were replaced the year before, the court heard. 

Inspector Justin Ng, the investigation officer for the case, said that the first complaint about “jerky rides” was reported on Jan 20 last year. Fujitec, the lift contractor, found it to be “functioning normally, with no jerky issues”, Insp Ng said. The complaint was then classified as a “false call”. 

The next month, the Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) of the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council was notified that the lift did not align properly when at the ground level. Fujitec technicians noticed that there was “poor activation of the car door”, and some of the “door panel rubber stripes” were protruding, Insp Ng said. The problem was fixed. 

On March 20, a third complaint came in about the misaligned lift car.

Mr Derek Kang, counsel for Lim’s family, contended that there were more complaints than that, but State Counsel Jane Lim said that an investigator with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) would be better placed later on to tell the court about the issue. 

Insp Ng said that based on investigations, Fujitec “only responds to complaints and feedback”, and carries out monthly lift maintenance. 

Separately, there is a lift maintenance unit from the town council also involved in joint inspections, which conducts random checks on the estate’s lifts. Apart from these, checks mandated by the BCA are carried out by an Authorised Examiner engaged by the town council.

On the day of the accident, there were two other residents in the lift with Lim, the court heard. The two witnesses said that the lift was some 15cm above ground, although BCA checks later showed that it was about 13cm above ground level. 

Surveillance camera footage showed Lim turning his head backwards before reversing his scooter out, but due to the gap, the scooter toppled and he fell on his back. 

Asked by State Coroner Marvin Bay if there were any blind spots, Insp Ng said that from witness accounts, they had assumed that the lift was fully flush with the ground floor. 

Both witnesses rushed out of the lift to help Lim, who still “seemed fairly conscious”. Lim even asked the two men to help him sit upright, though he was “still in a state of shock”. They did not notice any bleeding from the back of his head, just a “red patch of bruise”, Insp Ng said.

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