SEVERAL shops at the beleaguered Rivervale Plaza in Punggol East were flooded on Wednesday evening after rain seeped through the ceilings of the units.

Tenants described the scene as chaotic as students abandoned classes at a tuition centre and employees rushed to bail the water out with buckets and makeshift containers.

The shopping mall, which is undergoing upgrading, became a hot-button issue in last month's Punggol East by-election after renovation was stalled when the original contractor went bust.

It is scheduled to be completed in May this year, after a new contractor, Hak Hian, was appointed.

Tenants said rain started seeping through the ceilings of their units at about 6pm.

The affected tenants - a tuition centre, two stationery shops and a Kopitiam foodcourt - were located in the same row on the top floor of the two-storey mall. The mall has about 46 shops.

Punggol East grassroots adviser Teo Ser Luck arrived at about 8pm to assess the situation. He was joined an hour later by the ward's newly elected MP Lee Li Lian from the Workers' Party.

Posting on her Facebook page later, Ms Lee said that she spoke to the contractor and to HDB when she visited, and "understood the situation better".