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SINGAPORE: The collapse of a ventilation shaft at Shaw Theaters in the NEX Mall was likely due to a build-up of water that overloaded the supports, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said on Monday (October 5).
Lee made the comment in a written response to a parliamentary question from Member of Parliament (MP) Melvin Yong about the incident that left two people injured during a movie on August 30.
The minister said the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) ordered the building owner to appoint a professional engineer to carry out a “detailed investigation” of the incident and recommend remedial measures.
“The investigation is ongoing and is expected to be completed by the end of October 2020,” Lee said.
“However, preliminary findings indicate that a significant amount of water had accumulated in the layer of acoustic material surrounding the ACMV (air conditioning and mechanical ventilation) duct.
“It is likely that the weight of the accumulated water overloaded the supports that supported the ACMV conduit, causing them to give way,” added Mr. Lee.
Mr. Yong from the Popular Action Party asked about the circumstances that led to the eviction of the conduit. The Radin Mas MP also asked about the responsibilities of the building owner, the management office and the tenant in such cases, as well as what is being done to prevent these incidents from happening again.
Lee said BCA has alerted other theater operators to inspect their mechanical ventilation and air conditioning ducts, and to carry out maintenance and repair work when necessary.
“BCA will assess what additional measures should be taken to prevent a recurrence of such incidents once the investigation has been completed.”
