Maintenance firm fined after elderly woman fell down faulty Hougang escalator, fracturing spine
The escalator had been serviced improperly, and one of its handrails was not moving along with its steps at the time of the incident.
The prosecution played footage of the two elderly people falling down the escalator. (File photo: iStock)
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
SINGAPORE: An escalator maintenance company was fined S$15,000 (US$11,700) by a court on Thursday (Oct 1) over an incident in 2023 where an elderly woman fell down an escalator because of a faulty handrail and fractured her spine.
An elderly man who was on the same escalator fell down as well and suffered injuries to his back and elbows, with some bleeding.
The escalator at 105 Hougang Avenue 1, owned by Aljunied Hougang Town Council (AHTC), had been serviced improperly, and the handrail was not moving along with the escalator’s steps.
In footage of the incident on Apr 21, 2023, played in court, an 84-year-old man was shown trying to keep his grip on the rail before tumbling backwards over several steps.
A man was shown trying to help break his fall but was unable to do so, and the frail man fell down a few steps.
The 75-year-old woman was shown falling down the escalator soon after.
9G Elevator, which maintains both lifts and escalators, pleaded guilty to one charge of failing to carry out maintenance works as required under escalator regulations.
THE CASE
An engineer from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) reported the incident and authorised officers visited the location to inspect the escalator.
Officers observed that the handrail on the right stopped moving when they held on to it, while the escalator steps continued to move.
The prosecutor played a video of the escalator being tested.
Investigations revealed that 9G was engaged by AHTC at the time to carry out maintenance works.
The last time maintenance work was carried out on the escalator before the incident was on Apr 10, 2023.
However, the company had failed to conduct a proper inspection of the handrail and shaft bearings, which were corroded and worn out, affecting the safe operation of the escalator.
There was reduced pressure and loss of tension in the handrail, which had slackened and stopped moving when held.
The prosecutor said that 9G had 30 past violations between January 2018 and December 2022, three of which related to escalator handrails.
The company had paid composition or out-of-court fines for these.
Records showed that 9G had carried out maintenance works on the escalator multiple times from October 2022 to April 2023.
However, it failed to maintain the escalator in accordance with requirements stating that the levels of corrosion and wear and tear of all escalator parts must not affect its safe operation.
The BCA prosecutor sought the maximum fine, saying it was one of the worst such cases.
9G’s lawyer said the company had tried to contact the victims through the town council but was informed that the victims did not want to receive any compensation or have anything to do with 9G.
Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said the company had failed to detect that the handrail shaft bearings of the escalator were worn out and needed to be replaced.
She said the two victims had suffered actual harm, while potentially more serious harm could have been caused to other escalator users.
Judge Lee said the corrosion had occurred over several months, which showed how 9G had “woefully failed” to detect it over several inspections.
Since then, however, it has implemented measures aimed at preventing such an incident from occurring again, such as installing a handrail-speed-monitoring device. It has also cooperated with the authorities.
For failing to carry out maintenance works as required, a company can be fined up to S$20,000. If the offender is a person, they can also be jailed for up to 12 months.
CNA has contacted AHTC for more information.
Source: CNA/ll(kg)
Sign up for our newsletters
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
