Residents of Block 621B, Edgefield Walk in Punggol have complained that the two lifts in their building frequently malfunction despite undergoing repeated repairs, reported TODAYonline.
Sometimes, the elevators would stop suddenly, and there are cases when the doors close too quickly. Moreover, both lifts were out of service from noon to midnight last Saturday (17 June).
“Whenever it’s faulty, we call, they repair and it becomes faulty again,” said Madam Geetha Kaur, 54, who suffers from asthma and lives on the third level.
“There are quite a number of elderly residents living here, and they have to climb up the stairs when the lifts don’t work.”
The 256-unit block primarily consists of two-room studio apartments and rental flats that primarily houses elderly residents.
According to Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council Chairman Zainal Sapari, the elevators were among those installed by Sigma, the lift manufacturer that was banned from participating in new government tenders since October 2015 due to poor performance.
The MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC revealed that one of the elevators in Block 621B had to be shut down last Saturday because of uneven landing and poor door contact. Nonetheless, Sigma was able to fix by midnight.
On the other hand, the other lift hasn’t been working since last Thursday due to a broken controller drive, but it is expected to resume operations today.
Zainal highlighted that the town council takes feedback regarding faulty elevators seriously and is collaborating with Sigma to look into the root cause of the breakdowns.
“I would like to assure residents that all our lifts undergo a strict maintenance regime following the guidelines set by the Building and Construction Authority,” he said, adding that they are mulling aid to the residents if both lifts simultaneously break down in the future.
On complaints that no signs were put up outside the elevators warning residents that the lifts are not working, Zainal noted that they have instructed Sigma to do so in the future.
“We will not hesitate to take action against the lift companies if they fail to follow the agreed service standards… For this case, we will penalise the lift company,” he added.
This article was edited by Denise Djong.
