A RIFT has opened up between tenants and the management of Bukit Timah Shopping Centre in the wake of last Friday's flooding, caused by a burst water pipe.
As compensation claims flow in, tenants are complaining about damaged goods, spoilt equipment, lost earnings from having to close their shop over the weekend - and what they say is the management's indifferent attitude to their plight.
And one claimed yesterday that the flooding of the basement at the Upper Bukit Timah Road mall could have been avoided if the building management had been swifter in taking action.
Mr Warren Phee, operator of a 24-hour gaming club in the lower basement, said he had thrice raised the alarm about the leaking pipe, the first time as early as 3.30am - about half an hour before the water flooded the mall's basement.
Mr Phee, 26, told The Straits Times he again alerted security guards at 4.05am, when the water was flowing into the basement levels. He also called the fire brigade and Public Utilities Board (PUB). At about 4.15am, he informed the security guards a third time.
When PUB arrived, it found the centre's water pipes badly damaged, and the control valve turned off.
'However, there was still some water flowing as the valve was damaged due to excavation works by the shopping centre's contractor,' said the director of PUB's Water Supply Network Chong Hou Chun. PUB's back-up team arrived and shut off the supply mains at 6am, he added.
By then, the two basement levels of the mall had been flooded with water mixed with soil. The escalators and lifts had stopped working, and there were blackouts.
'The water was gushing down really fast, even dripping from the ceilings,' said Mr Phee. 'All 135 computers in the lower deck of my centre were completely submerged in water within half an hour.'
He has to close his shop for three months to restore operations. He estimated the cost of damage to be $500,000, and is claiming from his insurer.
When The Straits Times visited the mall yesterday, almost all the shops had reopened. Some tenants were drying their units' soggy carpets, while others were filling out their damage claim forms, which have to be submitted by Saturday. The escalators were still out of order.
Some of the approximately 40 affected tenants were unhappy about the manner in which management handled the situation.
Madam Nellie Ku, 53, who runs a wooden craft shop on the upper basement, said nobody helped to clean up the mess in her unit. 'They said 'later, later' but they did not come. I couldn't just wait and watch, right?' she said.
Her neighbour, Mr Joe Tiah, 29, who runs an electronics repair shop, said when he asked about procedures to file claims, a management staff member told him 'just claim whatever you want, it's all up to the insurers how they want to compensate you'.
Said Mr Tiah: 'If claims are to be filed, why isn't anyone taking photos as evidence? One reluctantly took photos after we made noise. And I took some just in case.'
Conint, the construction company that was excavating near the water pipe, said soil engineers were consulted before digging began for the new retaining wall it is building as part of the mall's upgrading.
Conint manager Jason Chua said the connection between the PUB pipe and the mall's domestic pipe had broken, adding: 'The pipe was old. There were no workers on site at the time.'
The building management declined to comment.
arlina@sph.com.sg
