Tampines lift's strange sounds caused by misalignment of brakes

The lift with misaligned brakes at Block 164, Tampines Street 12. PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS

SINGAPORE - The strange "thuds" that a lift in Tampines emits have got residents so worried, some have been using the stairs instead.

But the Tampines Town Council told The Straits Times the lift has been repaired.

One of the lifts at Block 164, Tampines Street 12, makes a loud sound each time it reaches a floor, residents told Shin Min Daily News.

Mr Yin, 48, who lives on the 10th floor, said there is a "bang" each time lift A reaches a floor.

The sound is so loud that he has been woken up by it at times, he said.

Lift B also makes a sound, but it is not as loud, he added.

Mrs Lim, 53, said that the lift has been making the sound intermittently since 2010.

She chooses to use the stairs unless she is carrying something heavy, she said.

Another resident said he has heard the sound but still uses the lift as it appears to be functioning normally.

Tampines Town Council said that they received feedback about the lift last week and sent the lift contractor to rectify the problem.

"We received a call from a resident on April 8 around 9am on sound made by the opening and closing of lift A door. The lift contractor was immediately deployed on site to check lift service A which resumed service on the same day at 12.30pm. We are currently monitoring the lift services closely," the town council said.

The sound was caused by a "minor misalignment of brakes", it added.

"During the check, the lift technician also took the opportunity to rectify the minor misalignment of brakes that may have resulted in the feedback on the sound generated."

The lift was last serviced on March 17 and is not unsafe, it said.

"The lift was constructed during the Lift Upgrading Programme five years ago, it is scheduled for servicing once a month and the last servicing was on March 17," Tampines Town Council said.

Incidents involving malfunctioning lifts has alarmed Singaporeans in recent months.

Lift A at Block 317, Ang Mo Kio Street 31, was suspended from use last month after it suddenly shot up 17 storeys on March 7, causing a 36-year-old Indonesian maid who was in it to fall and hurt her buttocks.

Its brakes were "not functioning well", investigations found.

In January, a faulty HDB lift in Punggol's Edgefield Plains was suspended from use after one of the lift's inner doors stayed open while the lift moved.

Last October, an 85-year-old Jurong resident's hand was severed after she tried to stop the lift doors from closing before her dog, which was on a leash, could enter.

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