acidic.straw
26-03-13, 07:29
Can the guard sue the mgt council for this? Hope the estate has public liability insurance to cover themselves.
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Security guard badly hurt after condo gate collapses on him
By Pearl Lee
A SECURITY guard, struggling to close a huge metal gate at a condominium, was badly injured when it unhinged and fell on him.
Mr Soman Marcel Pereira, 59, suffered a dislocated shoulder, a fractured pelvic bone and cracks on his backbone from the crash at Yong An Park condominium in River Valley Road.
"I will have to go for surgery in the next few days," he told The Straits Times yesterday from his bed in the high dependency unit at Singapore General Hospital.
The gate collapsed on Friday when Mr Soman was teaching a new colleague how to close it.
"It was about 10am and I was trying to shut it when suddenly it fell."
The gate was to have been opened and shut with a switch which, however, was faulty, he said. He would carry out the task manually every morning.
Mr Soman, a security guard for 15 years, said he noted that the gate was not working correctly the day he started work at Yong An Park last December.
He informed his supervisor about it several times, he added.
Describing his ordeal, he said he was pinned down for around 15 minutes as his fellow security guard and the condominium's gardener tried to free him by lifting the gate.
But it weighed more than 100kg and they succeeded only after several onlookers and residents rushed to their aid.
"I was trapped for 15 to 20 minutes and I struggled to breathe," Mr Soman said.
Yesterday, the condominium's manager, Mr Lee Kheng Guan, told The Straits Times it would be "taking necessary steps to prevent a repeat of this unfortunate incident".
He added: "One possible solution would be to replace this heavy metal gate with a lighter one and have it motorised."
But his words brought little comfort to Mr Soman. "They should have replaced the faulty gate before an accident happened, not after it happened and (then talking) about what to do."
The faulty gate is closed till further notice, said Mr Lee.
But several residents were seen using the small door within the gate when The Straits Times visited the condominium yesterday evening.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2013 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.
=========================================================
Security guard badly hurt after condo gate collapses on him
By Pearl Lee
A SECURITY guard, struggling to close a huge metal gate at a condominium, was badly injured when it unhinged and fell on him.
Mr Soman Marcel Pereira, 59, suffered a dislocated shoulder, a fractured pelvic bone and cracks on his backbone from the crash at Yong An Park condominium in River Valley Road.
"I will have to go for surgery in the next few days," he told The Straits Times yesterday from his bed in the high dependency unit at Singapore General Hospital.
The gate collapsed on Friday when Mr Soman was teaching a new colleague how to close it.
"It was about 10am and I was trying to shut it when suddenly it fell."
The gate was to have been opened and shut with a switch which, however, was faulty, he said. He would carry out the task manually every morning.
Mr Soman, a security guard for 15 years, said he noted that the gate was not working correctly the day he started work at Yong An Park last December.
He informed his supervisor about it several times, he added.
Describing his ordeal, he said he was pinned down for around 15 minutes as his fellow security guard and the condominium's gardener tried to free him by lifting the gate.
But it weighed more than 100kg and they succeeded only after several onlookers and residents rushed to their aid.
"I was trapped for 15 to 20 minutes and I struggled to breathe," Mr Soman said.
Yesterday, the condominium's manager, Mr Lee Kheng Guan, told The Straits Times it would be "taking necessary steps to prevent a repeat of this unfortunate incident".
He added: "One possible solution would be to replace this heavy metal gate with a lighter one and have it motorised."
But his words brought little comfort to Mr Soman. "They should have replaced the faulty gate before an accident happened, not after it happened and (then talking) about what to do."
The faulty gate is closed till further notice, said Mr Lee.
But several residents were seen using the small door within the gate when The Straits Times visited the condominium yesterday evening.
[email protected]
Copyright © 2013 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved.