Cabby hurts calf and ankle after lift plunges three floors in Sengkang

Mr Phillip Tan said that he cut back on his work hours after the incident because of the pain in his leg.
ST PHOTO: LEE JIA WEN

SINGAPORE - A 63-year-old taxi driver injured his right calf and suffered a swollen right ankle after a lift plunged three floors in Sengkang.

Mr Phillip Tan, who lives on the seventh floor at Block 122, Sengkang East Way, told The Straits Times that he got into Lift B at about 6pm on Tuesday (Jan 16) on his way down when just as the doors shut, the lift hurtled down three storeys before coming to a stop between the fourth and fifth floor.

"Everything happened in a split second. Of course I was very scared - I called the town council straight after," he said.

Mr Tan has seen a doctor and was given painkillers. He plans to go to Johor Baru on Friday to visit a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) clinic.

The taxi driver said that he cut back on his work hours after the incident because of the pain in his leg, driving only for five hours instead of the usual eight.

Mr Tan said that Tuesday's incident was his second bad experience with the same lift. On Monday at about 5pm, he tripped and fell, injuring his hip, because the lift car was not aligned with the lift landing, said Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News in a report on Wednesday (Jan 17).

"It was so far above the ground," he said.

A circular embossed with the logo of lift manufacturer Fujitec has been put up at the lift lobby stating that Lift B would be under maintenance till Saturday.

Lift B at Block 122, Sengkang East Way, will be under maintenance till Jan 20. ST PHOTO: LEE JIA WEN

A spokesman for the Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council said it was working with the relevant agencies in the investigation.

The Building and Construction Authority has issued a notice to ensure that Lift B stops operating until rectification works are done to its satisfaction.

Other residents have also experienced issues with Lift B.

Housewife Susan Tay, 63, said it shook vigorously twice when she got in on the eighth floor on Monday morning.

"It was horrible. I called my daughter immediately," said Madam Tay, who has lived in the Sengkang block for the past 16 years.

Another resident had a complaint about the only other lift in the block.

"Sometimes Lift A doesn't close properly, and just stays on the ground floor. My son has to jump on it for it to move," said a 48-year-old cashier, who only wanted to be known as Ms Z A. She lives on the 17th floor.

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