FOUR elderly women suffered deep
cuts, fractures and bruises at Punggol Plaza yesterday
morning when the handrail of the escalator they were on suddenly
stopped moving.
The women, in their 70s and 80s, were
just three steps from the top. As they were clutching on to the
handrails, they lost their balance and fell backwards.
Two ended up in a heap at the foot of the escalator, while the
other two landed on the steps.
Madam Kiong Mok Lan, 76, who was at the rear of the group, suffered
the worst injuries. She had tried to put her hands out to stop the
others from falling onto her, but the slim-built woman was unable
to withstand their weight.
She landed face down and fractured
her left cheekbone, right hand and left leg. Her spectacles
also broke, and her left eye was
swollen and bruised.
All the women suffered bruises and long scratches down their backs
caused by the escalator's jagged metal edges.
One of them, Madam Liew Poh Chan, 72, had deep cuts on both shins
and was bleeding profusely. The women were taken to Changi General
Hospital by ambulance, and later discharged.
Madam Kiong was heading for breakfast at the mall at about 9am with
her daughter-in-law's parents - Mr Yap Ah Kow, 77, and Madam Hoh
Peck Tau, 72, - as well as family friends Madam Cheong Tai, 81, and
Madam Liew.
Mr Yap, Madam Hoh and Madam Cheong are Malaysians who came here for
a holiday last Friday and were scheduled to go home today. The
group had planned to visit Resorts World Sentosa after
breakfast.
Madam Kiong's daughter-in-law, Mrs Wendy Lim, 43, was also on the
escalator, which connects the basement to the first floor. But the
housewife and her father, Mr Yap, were unhurt.
Career counsellor Gilbert Goh, who witnessed the incident, said he
was having breakfast at a fast-food restaurant near the escalator
when he heard something that 'sounded like thunder'.
When he rushed out to help, he saw the four women sprawled along
the escalator. 'I got a shock,' said Mr Goh, 49, a member of the
opposition National Solidarity Party who had contested in the
recent general election in Tampines GRC.
When The Straits Times spoke to them at the hospital later, the
women appeared shaken and tired. But they grew agitated when
recounting the accident.
Madam Hoh claimed one of the mall
management officers said it happened because the women became
giddy. 'She said that we are old and fell because we were feeling
giddy. How is it possible that all four of us suffer from giddiness
at the same time?' she said in Mandarin.
Her son-in-law Andy Lim, 46, rushed to the mall after his wife told
him what had happened, and asked a mall employee to test the
escalator twice. Both times, he said, the handrail stopped
intermittently.
Mr Lim, who works in a training company, said it was 'very
irresponsible' of the management to dismiss the incident as a minor
one.
When The Straits Times contacted the management office, an officer
at first said what happened was 'normal' and just 'a big hoo-ha'.
Another employee said the mall had never received any public
feedback about the escalator being faulty.
Yesterday afternoon, the escalator was cordoned off and inspected
by workmen from a repair company. The mall said the escalators are
maintained every month.
Several shoppers and shop owners claimed that the particular
escalator was often problematic. One shop owner, who has been there
for seven years, said incidents are common.
The Straits Times understands that the mall management has reported
the incident to its insurance company.
A check with several malls found that most service their escalators
every month. VivoCity, for example, also deploys its technicians to
check on escalators when it gets complaints. Faulty escalators are
cordoned off and signs put up to inform shoppers they are being
maintained, said a spokesman.
Mr Lionel Tan, owner of FB Industries, a company which installs and
maintains lifts and escalators, said accidents on escalators are
common.
He said escalators can stop moving suddenly when the safety
switches are activated by users who stand too closely to the sides.
But he said it is rare for the handrail to stop moving.
