Imagine the shock of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat owner when they entered their master bedroom and found a 100kg false ceiling on top of their bed. The incident is reported to have happened in a unit at Block 91 Dawson Road in Queenstown on June 8 at about 6:30 pm.
The owner, Ms Liu discovered after the ceiling had crashed that it was only installed with four small nails. She immediately informed the contractor of what happened and filed a police report. The concerned homeowner also warned the public about hiring contractors for home renovations.
Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News noted that the owners were stunned to see the false ceiling had crashed onto their bed upon coming home.
Fortunately, Ms Liu, her husband and their three children weren’t home when the incident occurred.
Ms Liu shared with the paper that they had found the contractor on Facebook, spending S$5,000 for the renovation project.
They decided to renovate the bedroom six months ago following the birth of their two sons. The contractor removed the walls and installed the false ceiling, giving the family of five enough room to sleep together.
The contractor has since offered the family a three-day hotel accommodation as well as repairing the room for free.
However, she found it “irresponsible” that the contractor only sent their staff to address the matter. It was only after she insisted, the person in charge came down to apologise personally.
The contractor noted in a letter that it would repair, paint, and address the damages on top of fixing the false ceiling. They also offered S$1,600 as compensation, which is twice the amount paid to install the false ceiling.
It was reported that Ms Liu rejected the offer and is currently negotiating with the contractor.
Members from the online community commented on the news, noting the family was “quite lucky” that the contractor was willing to take responsibility.
Meanwhile, others said it was the contractor’s duty to compensate the owners for the shock and inconvenience.
“Other than compensating the owner, the contractor should be heavily fined by government/license hold for putting lives at risk!” added Facebook user Anna Ong. /TISG
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