Despite tightening lift maintenance standards, 10-year-old Chung Yan Ting has become the latest victim of faulty HDB lifts when part of the ceiling light on the lift fell on her as she entered the compartment.
This is the most recent serious lift accident in the past few years, following the incident of a woman whose spine was fractured after she was jerked up and down suddenly while she was in a lift last year, and after the death of an elderly man in May last year who succumbed to injuries from a fall that occurred when he reversed his mobility scooter out of a lift that had stopped 15cm above the ground.
盛港一组屋电梯，天花板灯盖不知何故坠下，不偏不倚砸中10岁女童的头和脚顿流血，头部现疤痕，脚背缝5针。 宏茂桥市镇会的初步调查显示，灯光扩散器的隔板没固定好，相信导致事件的发生。 发言人补充，他们正进行全面的检查，也会和建设局合作，找出事发的根本原因。
Posted by Shin Min Daily News 新明日报 on Thursday, 8 June 2017
This time, Yan Ting was with her family at Block 325A Sengkang East Way when her mother first entered the defective lift. As Yan Ting followed behind her mother, her father noticed a long metal rod on the lift’s floor. Before he could look around to investigate further, half of the metal and plastic light cover dislodged from the lift’s ceiling and struck Yan Ting.
The child ran out of the lift, shouting “Ah, my head got blood.” The loud sound of the light cover collapsing and Yan Ting’s cries attracted the attention of neighbours who rushed to the bleeding child’s aid. She was rushed to the hospital where she received five stitches on her severely injured foot.
Yan Ting’s mother, Mdm Saw Soh Peng, suffered a small cut on her arm, while father, Mr Chung Koh Choon, and Yan Ting’s five-year-old brother were unharmed.
In speaking to TODAY, Mr Chung said: “I am disappointed and surprised that such a thing could happen. It’s the June holidays now. What if a kid was taking the lift alone when the ceiling fell? I don’t know what will happen.”
Yan Ting is currently recuperating at home. She has said that she is now afraid of taking lifts following the accident.
The lift at Block 325A is now under repair. A representative from Ang Mo Kio Town Council has said that the council is conducting “thorough checks” to determine the exact causes of the mishap.