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Aircon duct collapse at Shaw cinema in Nex mall likely due to accumulated water in structure: Desmond Lee

SINGAPORE — Water that had collected in an air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation duct at a cinema hall in Nex mall likely caused the structure to crash during a movie screening earlier this year, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said.

Shaw Theatres has closed its cinemas at Nex mall until further notice, after a ventilation duct injured two patrons in August 2020.

Shaw Theatres has closed its cinemas at Nex mall until further notice, after a ventilation duct injured two patrons in August 2020.

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SINGAPORE — Water that had collected in an air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation duct at a cinema hall in Nex mall likely caused the structure to crash during a movie screening earlier this year, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said.

“Preliminary findings indicate that a significant amount of water had accumulated in the layer of acoustic material surrounding the air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation duct,” he said Monday (Oct 5), in a written answer to parliamentary questions filed by Mr Melvin Yong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Radin Mas Single Member Constituency.

“The weight of the accumulated water is likely to have overloaded the brackets that were supporting the air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation duct, causing them to give way.”

The incident, which left two patrons injured, took place at around 4.45pm on Aug 30 in Hall 6 of Shaw Theatres. It is located on the fourth level of the mall in Serangoon Central.

The cinema has been closed since then.

Mr Yong had asked about the circumstances leading to the duct’s collapse, and the liabilities of the building owner, management office and tenant in such cases.

The shopping centre is owned and managed by real estate firm Gold Ridge.

Mr Yong also wanted to know what was being done to prevent such incidents from occurring again.

In photos that were circulating on WhatsApp after the incident happened, the duct was seen to have landed on the seats of the movie theatre after it fell.

In one picture, paramedics from the Singapore Civil Defence Force were seen wheeling a patron on a stretcher.

Mr Lee said that the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) instructed the building owner to appoint a professional engineer to carry out a detailed investigation of the incident, and to recommend rectification measures to be taken.

The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of this month.

“BCA has alerted other cinema operators to inspect their air-conditioning and mechanical ventilation ducts and to carry out maintenance and repair works where necessary.

“BCA will assess what further measures need to be taken to prevent a recurrence of such incidents after the investigation has been completed,” Mr Lee added.

CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story stated that Nex shopping centre is co-owned by real estate firms Mercatus and Gold Ridge. Nex has clarified that Gold Ridge owns and manages the mall, and Mercatus is an investor in Gold Ridge. 

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Nex cinema Shaw Theatres injury Desmond Lee

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