by Elena Chong
A PROPERTY investment company was brought to court on Tuesday
night for breaching the Fire Safety Act over the capark blaze at
People's Park Complex in April.
Grand City Investment, which manages the fifth-storey level
carpark at Park Road, is alleged to have permitted the fire safety
works comprising full-height partitioning works to create 20 rooms
over its car parking lots without approval of the building
plans.
The company is also accused of having changed the use of the
carpark lots into 20 rooms which it had rented out for storage
purposes. This made its existing fire safety provisions inadequate,
and which had posed a potential fire threat to its neighbouring
properties as well as making it hard for fire fighters to contain
the fire which broke out on April 21 at about 3.30pm.
The partitioned rooms have since been dismantled.
The company's case was adjourned to June 22. It is represented
by Mr Eric Chew Yee Teck. If convicted of the first charge, the
company can be fined up to $50,000, and further fined up to $1,000
a day if the offence continues after conviction.
For unauthorised change of use, the company can be fined up to
$10,000, and a fine of up to $500 for every day during which the
offence continues after conviction.