Yet another faulty lift at Sengkang East Way traps 70-year-old in lift for 40 minutes

Just two days after a 10-year-old girl was injured in a lift accident at Block 325A, Sengkang East Way, the second lift at the same block broke down on Friday afternoon, trapping 70-year-old retiree Mr Lee Keng Duan in the lift compartment for 40 minutes.

This latest incident occurred after Building & Construction Authority made a statement on 9 June, stating, “Our engineers also inspected the other lifts in the same block as well as four other lifts with similar design in the vicinity.”

Mr Lee was stuck between the first and second floor of the HDB block and found that he could not call anyone as his mobile phone did not have reception in the lift. Fortunately, neighbour Mr Sanjay Pandey passed by the lift and alerted Ang Mo Kio Town Council.

Mr Panday and his wife, Mdm Mohini, are the same neighbours who helped the Chung family when their daughter was struck by a lift light cover that had collapsed on Wednesday.

Mr Panday, a workplace safety and health officer, in speaking to TODAY said that lift breakdowns at this block are common. He added: “This is very worrying, it is the school holidays, and imagine that there are kids who might be stuck in the lift if they happen to be inside.”

Mr Lee echoed Mr Panday’s sentiments saying: “This lift has been always breaking down. I’m not so scared for myself, but I worry that my granddaughter could get trapped one day.”

Another resident of Block 325A, 60-year-old Mdm Lim B.C. said that she was bruised when one of the faulty lifts suddenly shut, hitting her arm. She has noted that the open-door button on the lift that trapped Mr Lee has been defective for some time, adding: ““I had to block it from shutting on my two-year-old granddaughter one time. These days, it is scary whenever I take the lift. They must do more checks, and not only when something happens, then it’s too late.”

AMKTC has yet to comment on this latest lift incident.