Who ensures carpark gantries are safe?

At around 9.40pm on May 6, I had passed the gantry into HDB carpark JM7, at Block 669, Jurong West Avenue 2, when I heard a very loud bang and thought a vehicle had run into my car.

It turned out that the heavy metal arm of the carpark gantry had fallen 90 degrees from its usual position and hit my car on the driver's side door, leaving long scratches and dents.

I called the hotline displayed on the gantry, which was the contact number of Guthrie Engineering, the carpark operator.

Although the matter was eventually settled - Guthrie Engineering offered to pay for the damage to my car - the incident raised a safety question: Who inspects carpark gantries for safety and how often are they inspected?

This incident was obviously a serious safety hazard. I shudder to think of the consequences if the gantry had broken the window of my car and hit me. There could have been serious injury or even death.

I hope the Housing Board and Guthrie Engineering will look seriously into the matter and implement more checks.

Lim Han Wei

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