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Jurong Town Council to take responsibility for lift accident: Tharman

SINGAPORE — The Jurong Town Council will take responsibility for the lift accident that severed an elderly woman’s hand in Taman Jurong last week, said Jurong GRC Member of Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam today (Oct 14).

The lift at Block 322, Tah Ching Road where the elderly woman’s hand was severed after it was trapped between lift doors. In the interest of public safety, the Building and Construction Authority has suspended the use of the lift. Photo: Ernest Chua

The lift at Block 322, Tah Ching Road where the elderly woman’s hand was severed after it was trapped between lift doors. In the interest of public safety, the Building and Construction Authority has suspended the use of the lift. Photo: Ernest Chua

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SINGAPORE — The Jurong Town Council will take responsibility for the lift accident that severed an elderly woman’s hand in Taman Jurong last week, said Jurong GRC Member of Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam today (Oct 14).

“There’s nothing to hide, there must have been something wrong with the lift even if maintenance checks were done,” Mr Tharman told reporters after visiting Mdm Khoo Bee Hua, 85, at the National University Hospital.

“There must have been something wrong, so we have to take responsibility. We will wait for the authorised examiner to do an independent report and then make sure on the basis of the report that this never happens again.”

Mr Tharman, who returned to Singapore today from Peru where he attended the International Monetary Fund meetings, said he knew Mdm Khoo and her late husband — who died three years ago — for many years. Both were prominent figures in the community, Mr Tharman said.

“Mdm Khoo herself has been very well regarded in the community. I found out about this when I was in Peru ... It was a terrible accident for anyone, and I was very sad to find out who it was,” said Mr Tharman. “I immediately contacted my grassroots leaders and they got in touch with her family. We assured them they have our full support. And we will ensure that we will get to the bottom of this.”

Mr Tharman, who spent an hour by Mdm Khoo’s bedside, said her mind was “totally alert”. “She really is the archetype pioneer — strong spirit, been through ups and downs in life ... and still determined to be independent, still wants to do everything for herself ... But we will make sure that even with her wanting to be independent, that she’s well looked after.”

Mdm Khoo’s left hand was crushed after becoming trapped between the lift doors in her attempt to retrieve her pet dog, which had failed to follow her into the lift at block 322 Tah Ching Road before the doors closed.

The town council has appointed an Authorised Examiner — as required by the Building and Construction Authority — to conduct a thorough investigation, which will take at least two weeks, Mr Tharman said.

He stressed that safety has to be taken very seriously in engineering and technical work. “Because there can be no compromise. Lifts are something that we depend on every day, several times a day for most people. We don’t want people to worry about their safety when taking the lift,” he said.

He added: “So, we really have to raise our standards — technical work, maintenance work, and in having a strong system of audit.”

Mr Tharman said he had a very long chat with Mdm Khoo’s family, and he assured her son that the town council has “absolutely nothing to hide”. The town council will provide full assistance to the family, he added.

On the incident, Mr Tharman said it was “too early to say” if it would trigger an overhaul of the lift systems in Housing and Development Board flats. “Let’s find out what the problem was in this case,” he said. “But ... what I will like to say is (that) quite apart from the technical and engineering issues ... we need this culture of going for zero accidents on anything of this nature.”

The town council had said that apart from the incident, it has received three complaints about the lift — two about breakdowns and one about its doors opening too slowly — since April this year.

The town council has to draw lessons from the incident, Mr Tharman said. “We need a strong system of audit of maintenance work. It will have to be thorough.” It will also have to take feedback from residents very seriously and be very responsive, he added.

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