However, almost as soon as they moved in two-and-a-half years ago, several defects began to emerge in these houses, which had just received Certificates of Fitness (CF).

The leakages started with the roofs, and then the bathrooms on the top floor of the double-storey property, leaving patches on the ground floor ceiling.

The residents claim that their pleas to the developer, Mah Sing Properties Sdn Bhd, and the local authority fell on deaf ears.

On Sunday afternoon, a resident, sales manager Goh Back Seng, and his family got a rude shock when they heard loud cracking noises. It Was their living room floor - the tiles had buckled and cracked.

Goh, who moved in with his family two years ago, paid RM230,000 for the intermediate lot. He is disappointed with the shoddy workmanship.

"I have had the developer come in to repair leaks and cracks on the walls several times and the results were only temporary as it would go back to square one again,'" he said.

"The warranty has expired but 1 the problems still Persist," he said.

Mutiara Subang Residents: Association chairman Jaslon Ng said these are notJ:he only problems faced by the residents in the housing estate, which has 292, houses, of which about 250 occupied.

The authorities have also failed to ensure that the developer complies with all the regulations.

"The water pipes beneath the roads, for instance, are not well laid. These pipes often break when heavy vehicles pass by;" said Ng.

The electrical wiring leading up to the reading meters also seem to have melted, he said.

The residents will be meeting with state assemblyman Lqm Weng Keong on S;itUrday to sort out the matter. Ng hopes this will be the end of their woes.

Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk M. Kayveas said he has instrutted the MPSA to furnish a report on the matter by this week.

Mah Sing Properties' Mutiara Subang project manager Raymond Lai said once the defect liability period had lapsed on June 30,1999, all complaints have to be evaluated on a case-by-casebasis.

He said the water leakage and electrical wiring problems are under the jurisdiction of the Petaling Water Works Department and the Shah Alam Tenaga Nasional Bhd, as the external piping and infrastructure were handed over to the PWD.

He also said the electrical wiring leading to the meters were laid by TNB.