Boy hurt after parts of ceiling fell on him while in bathroom

Join our Telegram channel: t.me/todayonlinesg 

SINGAPORE — After a young boy was hurt when parts of a bathroom’s concrete ceiling fell on him at home, the public housing authority is reminding residents to take action early when they detect signs of cracks in ceilings.  

In a series of posts on Tuesday (May 19), a Facebook user with the name Syasya DanialAlissa said that her son had been “happily playing with water” in the bathroom when the incident occurred.

The boy had been shooting water up at the ceiling, but she said that the ceiling was “already cracked even before he did it”.

She then posted a photo of the concrete debris on the ground, as well as a photo of her son after he was hurt, adding that her “worst nightmare came true”.

The boy was later taken to the hospital for further checks.

In a follow-up post, Ms Syasya said that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the town council managing the public housing estate in which she lives had followed up on the incident.

In response to TODAY’s queries on Thursday, HDB said that its officers visited the flat on Tuesday and found spalling concrete in the bathroom ceiling.

“We have helped the family to clear the debris arising from the spalling concrete, and will be carrying out repair works in the flat on Friday. As this is a rental flat, HDB will bear the cost of repair.”

It noted that the rental flat is 45 years old and being an “older building”, it is subject to natural wear and tear, and conditions that could lead to spalling concrete.

“Spalling concrete occurs when the steel bars embedded in the ceiling start to corrode due to the ingress of moisture and acidic elements,” it said.

Over time, this causes the concrete ceiling to crack and fall off, it added.

“(This) tends to occur more frequently in moisture-prone areas such as the kitchen and bathroom where humidity will speed up the carbonation process, which causes the spalling concrete.

“However, spalling concrete is non-structural in nature and will not affect the building’s structural integrity.”

WHAT HOMEOWNERS SHOULD DO

In a reminder to the public, HDB said that if there are signs of spalling concrete, flat owners should carry out repairs early to prevent the problem from deteriorating further and affecting a larger area.

“In the event that rental tenants discover any defects such as spalling concrete or ceiling leak, tenants should report to HDB so that HDB can carry out the necessary repairs,” it said.

With regular maintenance, spalling concrete in flats is usually minor and can be easily repaired, it added.

More details on repairing spalling concrete are available on HDB’s website.