Tragedy leads to meeting to solve lift breakdowns
The Malay Mail 24/10/2005

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24:

It took a tragedy, as usual, to bring about an attempt at solving a long-standing problem.

Suria Magna apartment residents, the apartment’s management, Dunia Epik Sdn Bhd, and its developer Magna Park Sdn Bhd yesterday held a two-hour meeting to discuss the problem of lift breakdowns.

On Saturday, Fong Wei Xiong, 10, died when he fell into a lift shaft at Block B of the Suria Magna apartment in Metro Prima, Kepong, which had stalled.

Residents said it was common for the lifts at the 14-storey apartments to break down.

Yesterday’s meeting was chaired by Kuala Lumpur Gerakan Youth vice-chief Lau Hoi Keong.

Lau said during the meeting, it was decided that to set up a permanent office be set up for a lift technician there instead of engaging one from outside each time the need arose.

The management would also install closed-circuit television cameras inside each lift and employ two security guards for night duty, he added.

Suria Magna residents association chairman P. Subramaniam said the problem was not new.

“Every week we have at least one breakdown involving the lift,” he said.

Several residents claimed maintenance was poor.

They said being trapped in the lifts or resorting to the stairs was common.

The NST found the waiting area at the lifts to be strewn with rubbish while there was a stench of urine inside the lifts.

A resident, who did not want to be named, said despite numerous complaints the management had not taken action.

“We pay a monthly service fee and yet they do not take us seriously. Now, after this accident, suddenly they want to listen to us,” he said.

Dunia Epik Sdn Bhd senior project manager Jason Olivo said the claim was not true.

“We have a good track record as we always send technicians within 20 to 30 minutes after receiving any call about lifts breaking down,” he said.

He added that in Saturday’s case, they had not received any complaint about a breakdown from residents until the evening when Wei Xiong’s father found his son in the lift shaft.

Magna Park Sdn Bhd customer relations manager Othman Mohammad blamed the lift users for the problems.

“We found that urine seeps through the lift floor and damages the lift’s motor,” he said. — NST