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SINGAPORE – Large cracks in 10 pillars at an old shop in Jalan Besar have caused bystanders to worry about their safety, forcing one person to make two police reports on the building.
Parts of the house at 45 Syed Alwi Road also appear to have changed in four of these columns, Chinese nighttime newspaper Lianhe Wanbao reported on Thursday (December 10).
In response to inquiries from The Straits Times, a spokesperson for the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) said Thursday that the defects do not compromise the safety of the building.
They were likely caused by “differential settlement between the building and the five-foot driveway, which are supported by different foundation systems,” the spokesperson said.
In November, the BCA ordered the building owner to hire a professional engineer (PE) to thoroughly inspect the building.
In their assessment, both the designated PE and the BCA engineer concluded that the cracks in the pillars did not affect the overall structural integrity of the building, the authority said.
BCA added that the owner of the building will also carry out the rectification works recommended by the PE.
A reader, who declined to be identified, told Wanbao that he contacted the police twice because he was concerned about the safety of the store, which has a convenience store and a restaurant on the ground floor, as well as a hostel. on the second floor.
He said the police informed the relevant authorities after searching the place.
A 60-year-old convenience store assistant, who wanted to be known as Mr. Luo, told Wanbao that he discovered the cracks two years ago.
A customer also told him that he could see the store tilted from his floor, he added.
He said: “A month ago, I found a piece of limestone on the floor, which looked like it had come loose from the columns. Fortunately, it didn’t fall on anyone.”
A shop assistant added that she tries to leave quickly after work as the cracks make her nervous.
According to a merchant at a nearby store, the cracks appeared a few years ago. Renovation work was done to fix them. But they reappeared shortly after, he said.
The 83-year-old owner of the house, who wanted to be known as Ms. Lim, and her second son, Mr. Zhang Jia Yuan, told Wanbao that the building was “as strong as a rock” and that the authorities they had examined it every day. five years.
According to Ms Lim, the cracks in the pillars began to appear after the road construction works in 2014, leading her to carry out repairs to the house three times.
A month ago, he contacted an engineer to search the home after police informed him that the public had reported the cracks.
After verification by the professional engineer, Mr. Zhang, 49, said he submitted a repair plan for the house and is awaiting approval from the authorities.
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