KOTA KINABALU, March 9 — The Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) has urged building owners in the city to carry out periodic maintenance on their assets to ensure public safety.
DBKK director-general (finance sector) Lifred Wong said this in response to Friday night incident in Segama where the first floor platform of a four-storey building collapsed onto a restaurant at the ground floor, injuring a 55-year-old woman and her 58-year-old husband.
Wong said they had issued notices to building owners last year, urging them to do proper maintenance and structural integrity tests, but unfortunately, not all owners heeded this call.
He stressed that these integrity tests are supposed to be carried out from time to time, especially on dilapidated or old buildings, to ensure the safety of the public.
The Segama building in question was apparently built in the 1970s with possibly lower quality construction materials than the ones seen today, and it was apparently among the assets that DBKK had issued the notice to last year.
“The most important thing is that we will ask for structural integrity tests to be carried out at the lots nearby the Segama building, before the rest.
“There are provisions in our laws for action to be taken against those who refuse, but we have the rights to ask them to do the test and we do not want to force, so we will continue to issue out these notices,” he told reporters at a breaking fast ceremony organised by Kota Kinabalu Member of Parliament Datuk Chang Foong Hin at a hotel here on Saturday.
Wang Wei, a Chinese national, fractured her left leg, while her husband, Yu Ping An, suffered minor injuries in the 7.56pm incident.
They were helping their son at the Chinese-operated halal restaurant which occupies the ground and first floors, when the platform gave way.
There were not many customers during the incident as most had left after breaking fast.
Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief ACP Kasim Muda said the public alerted the police through a MERS 999 emergency call.
Kasim said firefighters and other security agency personnel arrived at the location at 8.29pm and found the injured woman and her husband.
She was taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital 1 for further treatment.
Kasim said the 55 people renting rooms on the second and third floors of the building, were evacuated as a precaution, and a temporary relief centre was opened at the Kota Kinabalu Community Hall to accommodate them.
“Six police officers were deployed at the scene to guard and control the area, while the Fire and Rescue Department is still conducting an investigation to identify the exact cause of the incident and to ensure there is no additional risk to the public.
“The public is advised to avoid the area until the investigation is completed and the area is declared safe,” he said in a statement. — The Borneo Post
