SINGAPORE - A ceiling at Jurong East shopping mall Jem sprung a leak for nearly three hours during lunchtime on Wednesday (Dec 28), Lianhe Zaobao reported on Wednesday (Dec 28).

The leak started from 12.35pm at the first floor near the concierge, Zaobao said.

A clothing store reportedly shut its doors for more than two hours because of the leak.

Zaobao visited the mall and found a small section closed off, with workers fixing and cleaning the ceiling.

Staff at the eateries there told Zaobao that their businesses were affected and that the leak had first occurred the night before, but was not as serious.

Jem has had several such incidents since it opened in mid-2013.

Early last year (2015), second-floor salad store Saladworks was flooded when a blocked waste pipe caused a backflow of water into the store.

In June 2015, a leaking kitchen waste pipe splashed waste water on diners at Din Tai Fung restaurant on the same floor.

In March this year (2016), water that reportedly smelled like "kitchen waste" leaked onto the mall's third floor.

An official spokesman for Jem told The Straits Times that "water seepage was discovered from a pipe located at the Level 1 ceiling" at 12.35pm on Wednesday.

The management attended to the affected area immediately and the water was cleared from the affected area by 3.15pm.

The spokesman added that Jem "remains open for business", and that further maintenance will be carried out after trading hours.

Investigations are ongoing.