Final report on lift incident submitted to BCA

SINGAPORE – The final investigation report on the Tah Ching Road lift incident that severed an elderly woman’s hand was submitted to the Building and Construction Authority yesterday, and the authority will review the findings and make an independent assessment within the next few days, it said.

The report’s deadline was extended twice, after the authorised examiner looking into the case had asked for more time to conduct further tests. The original deadline was Oct 17. A preliminary report of the incident was submitted on Oct 26.

The Commissioner of Buildings had asked Jurong Town Council to appoint an authorised examiner to conduct an investigation, after 85-year-old Mdm Khoo Bee Hua’s left hand was severed when she tried to stop the lift doors from closing.

Mdm Khoo, who underwent two surgeries at National University Hospital, is currently warded at Jurong Community Hospital.

Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who is a Member of Parliament for Jurong GRC, has previously said that the cause of the incident must first be established before discussing any compensation, but has stressed repeatedly that Jurong Town Council takes responsibility for what happened.

Speaking to TODAY, Mdm Khoo’s son, who wanted to be known only as Mr Lee, said his mother has begun “light” therapy sessions for her right hand and right leg since last week.

Her left leg, which was injured during the incident, is still in a cast, the 59-year-old added.

Mr Lee said he had gone to the town council’s office last week to watch closed-circuit television footage of the incident. However, he was unable to “see much” as the camera was not inside the lift.

“After (she went) in, (I) don’t know what happened,” said Mr Lee, adding that he only saw paramedics helping Mdm Khoo thereafter.

“That’s all, so we didn’t really see how it (the lift incident) actually happened.” AMANDA LEE