Bukit Panjang HDB lift ‘over-runs’, injuring woman's spine

 The Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council (HBPTC) on Thursday (Jun 9) said it has shut down a lift at Block 150 Petir Road after it “over-ran” and injured a 59-year-old woman on Tuesday.

In a statement, the town council said it has been issued with a notice to suspend the lift’s operation and to appoint an authorised examiner to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.

It added the victim, who wanted to be known only as Mdm Yeo, was taken to Ng Teng Fong General Hospital and warded for overnight observation before being discharged the next day on Jun 8.

HBPTC also said it would continue to offer assistance to Mdm Yeo, who works as a part-time cleaner.

Relating the incident to Channel NewsAsia, Mdm Yeo's daughter Tracy Goh said: “She lives on the ninth storey and was going down to the ground floor. But when the lift reached the first storey, it shot up to the 11th, down to the third and back up to the 12th.”
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“The impact was strong and my mum grabbed the railing but still fractured her spine. And when rescuers came, the gap between the lift and the floor made it hard to rescue my mum,” she added.

Ms Goh said her mother, who declined to be interviewed, was told to rest at home and return for follow-ups as well as physiotherapy sessions.

A spokesperson for the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) added that its engineers, together with representatives from HBPTC and the lift contractor, have visited the site to investigate the incident.  

It has also ordered HBPTC to appoint an independent Authorised Examiner to inspect the lift, recommend rectification works, and submit the findings to BCA. The spokesperson added that BCA will also conduct its own independent investigation into the incident.

"The investigation and required rectification works must be carried out to the satisfaction of BCA, before the incident lift is allowed to resume operations," BCA said. "As a precautionary measure, BCA is conducting checks on other lifts within the vicinity of the incident.”