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)

This audio is generated by an AI tool.

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.

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.

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

事发时，自动扶梯的维护保养不当，其中一根扶手没有与台阶同步移动。

检方播放了两名老人从自动扶梯上摔落的录像。（图片来源：iStock）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：一家自动扶梯维修公司因2023年发生的一起事故被法院罚款15000新元（11700美元）。事故中，一名老妇人因扶梯扶手故障而摔下扶梯，导致脊柱骨折。

一名当时在同一部自动扶梯上的老人也摔了下来，背部和肘部受伤，并伴有出血。

位于后港大道 1 号 105 号的自动扶梯属于阿裕尼后港市镇理事会 (AHTC) 所有，但该扶梯维修不当，扶手无法与扶梯的台阶同步移动。

在法庭上播放的 2023 年 4 月 21 日事件录像中，一名 84 岁的老人在试图抓住栏杆时，向后摔倒，滚落了好几级台阶。

视频显示，一名男子试图帮助他缓冲跌倒，但未能成功，这名体弱的男子从几级台阶上摔了下来。

随后不久，画面显示这位75岁的老妇人从自动扶梯上摔了下来。

负责电梯和自动扶梯维护的 9G 电梯公司承认一项指控，即未能按照自动扶梯法规的要求进行维护工作。

建设局（BCA）的一名工程师报告了这起事件，授权人员前往现场检查了自动扶梯。

警员们观察到，当他们抓住右侧扶手时，扶手停止了移动，而自动扶梯的台阶仍在继续移动。

检察官播放了一段自动扶梯测试的视频。

调查显示，9G公司当时受阿裕尼-后港市交通委员会（AHTC）委托进行维修工作。

事故发生前，该自动扶梯最后一次进行维护工作是在 2023 年 4 月 10 日。

然而，该公司未能对扶手和轴承进行适当的检查，这些部件已经腐蚀和磨损，影响了自动扶梯的安全运行。

扶手压力降低，张力减弱，握住时扶手松弛且停止移动。

检察官表示，9G 在 2018 年 1 月至 2022 年 12 月期间有 30 起违规记录，其中 3 起与自动扶梯扶手有关。

该公司已就这些行为支付了和解金或庭外罚款。

记录显示，9G 从 2022 年 10 月到 2023 年 4 月多次对该自动扶梯进行了维护工作。

然而，它未能按照相关要求对自动扶梯进行维护，这些要求规定自动扶梯所有部件的腐蚀和磨损程度不得影响其安全运行。

印尼犯罪调查局检察官要求处以最高罚款，称这是此类案件中最严重的案件之一。

9G 的律师表示，该公司曾试图通过镇议会联系受害者，但被告知受害者不想获得任何赔偿，也不想与 9G 有任何瓜葛。

首席地方法官李立成表示，该公司未能发现自动扶梯扶手轴承磨损需要更换。

她说，两名受害者遭受了实际伤害，而其他自动扶梯使用者可能受到了更严重的伤害。

李法官表示，腐蚀已经持续了几个月，这表明 9G 在多次检查中“严重失职”，未能发现腐蚀现象。

但此后，该公司采取了多项措施，旨在防止此类事件再次发生，例如安装扶手速度监测装置。该公司也与有关部门进行了合作。

公司若未能按要求进行维修工作，最高可被罚款2万新元。若违法者为个人，则最高可被判处12个月监禁。

CNA已联系AHTC以获取更多信息。

订阅我们的邮件，即可获取精选热点新闻和引人深思的文章。

订阅通知，第一时间获取突发新闻和精彩报道。

加入我们的频道，即可在您常用的聊天应用上获取当日热门文章。