A woman injured in the Bukit Batok fire in November has died, a Singapore General Hospital (SGH) spokesperson said on Tuesday (Dec 10) in response to CNA's queries.
Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai also confirmed this in a Facebook post. “Friends, I regret to inform you that Mdm Goh, the Blk 210A fire victim on Nov 1, has passed away. Mdm Goh’s family asks that their privacy be respected during this trying period. Deepest condolences to them. Wishing them strength to cope with the loss of Mdm Goh,” he wrote.
Neither SGH nor Mr Murali said if the woman died from injuries sustained in the fire. She died on Monday, according to the SGH spokesperson.
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Elderly woman dies following blaze involving faulty hose reels in Bukit Batok fire
SCDF firefighters at a Block 210A Bukit Batok flat following a fire there on 1 November 2019. PHOTO: SCDF
A 60-year-old woman who was injured in a Bukit Batok blaze on 1 November where firemen were left without a water supply has died.
The victim, who was identified only as Madam Goh, passed away on Monday (9 December). Her family had asked for their privacy to be respected, Murali added, Bukit Batok Member of Parliament (MP) Murali Pillai said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Pillai, who is accompanying President Halimah Yacob on her five-day state visit to Germany, told The Straits Times that he is cutting his trip short in order to be with Goh’s family. The 52-year-old landed in Berlin on Monday.
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Woman dies from injuries suffered in Bukit Batok blaze where fire hose reels could not be used
The woman injured in the Bukit Batok fire on Nov 1 - where officers were unable to use the fire hose reels - died in hospital on Monday (Dec 9), said a spokesman for the Singapore General Hospital (SGH).
The 60-year-old woman was rescued from the 13th-floor unit of Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 and had been receiving medical treatment at SGH for more than a month since the fire.
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Woman dies from injuries suffered in fire at Bukit Batok after over one month of intensive treatment
The woman who was injured during the Bukit Batok fire on 1 Nov, has passed on at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) on Monday.
The woman who is in her 60s, was earlier rescued from her unit at Block 210A by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) when the flat caught fire on 1 Nov. The fire was eventually extinguished by the firemen with the use of the fire engine’s water pumps after they were unable to use fire hose reels to fight the fire.
She had been receiving medical treatment at SGH for more than a month since the fire. Her husband was discharged from hospital about a week after the fire and her son was discharged on 15 Nov.
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Firefighters rescue 2 people standing on ledge outside window after fire breaks out in Bukit Batok flat
Three people were rescued from a fire that broke out in a flat in Bukit Batok early on Friday (Nov 1), the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said.
In a Facebook post, SCDF said that it responded to a residential unit fire on the 13th floor of Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 at 4.31am. SCDF firefighters had to do a "forced entry" to gain access to the flat.
A woman in her 60s was rescued from a toilet, while a man in his 60s and another man in his 30s were found standing on the ledge outside the kitchen window.
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Bukit Batok fire: Woman still in ICU but hubby and son discharged
The woman injured in the Bukit Batok fire two weeks ago is still undergoing medical treatment in Singapore General Hospital's (SGH) intensive care unit (ICU).
A spokesman for SGH confirmed this, and said her husband and son, who were also rescued from the fire, have been discharged.
The woman, who is in her 60s, was rescued from a 13th-floor unit of Block 210A, Bukit Batok Street 21, along with her husband and son, on Nov 1.
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Covering The Other Side SG Yesterday at 7:56 AM
"Despite receiving a ‘green’ banding for corporate governance – the highest rating possible, the Ministry of National Development has considered taking regulatory action against Aljunied-Hougang Town Council.
In contrast, the government’s response to the Bukit Batok fire has been deafeningly silent, despite clear evidence of gross negligence on the part of the town council in failing to ensure fire safety regulations were followed.
Attempting to shift responsibility to the contractor does not diminish the town council’s culpability. One can only imagine the ruling party’s reaction had the fire taken place in Aljunied-Hougang Town Council."
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Bukit Batok fire: MP Murali Pillai apologises over locked hose reel cabinets, says 2 town council staff to be disciplined
Bukit Batok SMC Member of Parliament Murali Pillai apologised on Friday (15 November) over the fire incident at a block in his ward where firefighters at the scene encountered padlocked hose reel cabinets and the absence of water supply.
On 1 November, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters arrived at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 to combat a fire at the 13th floor. They came across the padlocked cabinets and had to break one of them to access the hose reel but were unable to use it as there was no water supply. Instead, they extinguished the fire using water from the SCDF’s emergency vehicles.
In a post on his Facebook page on Friday, Murali said, “As your elected representative, I am politically accountable to you for these issues...These incidents should not have happened and, for that, I must apologise. I will work with my elected & appointed Town Councillors to review this case and ensure that the fire safety system is strengthened to ensure its reliability.”
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Dr Chee says fire hose saga is a prime example of how the opposition should work
His comments came hours after ruling party MP Murali Pillai apologised for the lapses uncovered by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) with regards to a fire that broke out at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 on Nov 1.
After a raging blaze broke out at the 13th-storey unit at the HDB block,SCDF firefighters found that the fire hose reel cabinets at the block were padlocked and discovered that there was no water supply for the hose reel when they broke one of the padlocks.
The problems with the fire hose reel is said to have delayed the rescue attempt and the SCDF subsequently revealed it issued Fire Hazard Abatement Notices to Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) over these two issues. JCTC later said the fire hose reel was in normal working condition two weeks prior to the fire but added that it accepts the SCDF’s report that it was not working when the fire occurred.
related:
More fire safety equipment found padlocked at Tampines GRC
Chee Soon Juan accuses the PAP of prioritising money over people’s lives
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Bukit Batok fire: Water supply cut off from hose reels because contractor didn’t turn it to correct mode, says town council
Firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were unable to access water supply in the hose reels at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 last month because a switch had been left on manual instead of auto mode.
The Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) on Monday (Dec 2) released its findings after an investigation into the incident, saying that J Keart Alliances (JKeart), the contractor responsible for maintaining the hose reels, had been negligent in failing to ensure that a selector switch at the pump room was in the correct mode.
Signed statements that JKeart previously gave to JCTC asserting that the hose reels were in working condition were also incorrect, said the town council in a Facebook post. SCDF on Nov 9 said that it had issued a warning to JCTC after firefighters called to a blaze at an HDB flat found the hose reel cabinets on the 13th floor had been padlocked and the water supply cut off. Three people were injured in the fire.
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Fire hose reels at Bukit Batok block were padlocked to prevent vandalism: Town council
The Jurong-Clementi Town Council said on Thursday (Nov 14) that the fire hose reels over which it was issued a warning by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) had been locked to prevent vandalism.
In a statement last week, SCDF said that its firefighters were responding to a blaze at an HDB flat in Bukit Batok when they realised several of the hose reel cabinets had been padlocked.
Even after breaking one of the padlocks, the hose reel could not be used because there was no water supply, said SCDF.
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Bukit Batok fire: Hose reels did not have water supply because pump switch was in wrong mode
Firefighters from the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) were unable to access water supply in the hose reels at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 last month because a switch had been left on manual instead of auto mode.
The Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) on Monday (Dec 2) released its findings after an investigation into the incident, saying that J Keart Alliances (JKeart), the contractor responsible for maintaining the hose reels, had been "negligent in failing to ensure that a selector switch at the pump room" was in the correct mode.
Signed statements that JKeart previously gave to JCTC asserting that the hose reels were in working condition were also incorrect, said the town council in a Facebook post.
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Bukit Batok MP apologises for hose reel problems during fire, says town councillors face disciplinary action
Bukit Batok Member of Parliament Murali Pillai has apologised over problems with hose reels during a recent flat fire, and said that the town council was taking disciplinary action against two officers who directed the padlocking of the hose reel cabinets.
In a Facebook post on Friday (Nov 15), Mr Murali added that the Jurong-Clementi Town Council was also investigating a claim by a contractor that the hose reels were in fact supplying water at the time the fire broke out at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 in the early hours of Nov 1.
Firefighters responding to the fire on the block’s 13th floor found the hose reel cabinets at the block padlocked, and had to break one to get access to a hose reel. But even then, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) said it had found that the hose reel had no water supply.
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Faulty hose reels at Bukit Batok HDB block in working condition 2 weeks before high-rise fire: Town council
Following a warning by the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to Jurong-Clementi Town Council after firefighters could not use hose reels in a Housing Board block during a fire, the town council explained on Wednesday (Nov 13) that the reels had been working two weeks earlier.
The SCDF said in a statement last Friday that during the Nov 1 fire, its officers found that the hose reels cabinets at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 were padlocked. After breaking one of the padlocks, firefighters found there was no water supply for the hose reel.
The fire had set a 13th-floor unit in the HDB block ablaze. A 60m ladder was used to rescue a man in his 60s and another man in his 30s from the ledge outside the flat's kitchen window.
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Town Council staff who padlocked fire hose reel to be redeployed, senior officers set to be penalised: JCTC
Concluding its investigation into the issues with the fire hose reels at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 that came to light after a raging fire engulfed a 13th floor flat last month, Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) revealed in a statement yesterday (Dec 2) that the staff who padlocked the fire hose reel is to be redeployed and that his supervisors will also be penalised.
After the fire broke out on Nov 1, trapping three occupants, SCDF firefighters who arrived at the scene found that the fire hose reel cabinets at the block were padlocked and discovered that there was no water supply for the hose reel when they broke one of the padlocks.
The problem with the fire hose reel is said to have delayed the rescue attempt and two male occupants of the flat climbed out onto the 13th-storey ledge from their kitchen window while another occupant locked herself in the bathroom as the fire built up.
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More fire safety equipment found padlocked at Tampines GRC
More padlocked firefighter inlets were found at another People’s Action Party (PAP) ward, weeks after the authorities managing the Bukit Batok estate came under fire over padlocked fire hose reels at the ward.
Earlier this month, Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) firefighters who were trying to put out a raging blaze at a 13th-storey unit at Block 210A Bukit Batok Street 21 found that the fire hose reel cabinets at the block were padlocked. They also found there was no water supply for the hose reel when they broke one padlock.
It is said the problems with the fire hose reel delayed the rescue attempt and the SCDF subsequently revealed it issued Fire Hazard Abatement Notices to Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) over these two issues.
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Jurong-Clementi Town Council gets warning from SCDF after firefighters unable to use hose reels during blaze
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) has issued a warning to Jurong-Clementi Town Council after firefighters on call to a blaze at an HDB flat in Bukit Batok last week were unable to use the fire hose reels at the location.
Several of the hose reel cabinets had been padlocked, SCDF said in a statement to CNA on Saturday (Nov 9). Even after firefighters broke one of the padlocks, they were still unable to use the fire hose reel because there was no water supply, SCDF added. The fire was eventually extinguished with water from SCDF's emergency vehicles. "Town Councils are responsible for the maintenance and proper functioning of their estates’ fire safety measures," SCDF said.
Later on in the day, SCDF notified Jurong-Clementi Town Council of the issue with the fire hose reels and performed an inspection with town council representatives, it said in its statement. The Town Council was subsequently issued with Fire Hazard Abatement Notices, which serve as warnings to rectify the non-compliance.
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Bukit Batok fire: JCTC to issue Non-Performance notice to contractor tasked to maintain hose reels, accuses JKeart of negligence
The Jurong-Clementi Town Council (JCTC) will issue a Notice of Non-Performance to J. Keart Alliances Pte Ltd (JKeart) for allegedly failing to ensure that a selector switch at the pump room was correctly set after a maintenance exercise of the pumps carried out two weeks beforehand.
JKeart, the contractor responsible for maintaining the hose reels at Block 210A at Bukit Batok St 21, had reportedly provided JCTC a report, in which the contractor confirmed that the hose reels had been properly maintained and that there was water supply to the hose reels at the material time, said JCTC in a Facebook post on Mon evening (2 Dec).
The report by JKeart had also purportedly included signed statements from several of its employees who attended to the incident on 1 Nov, the town council added. “As a result, JCTC will issue a Notice of Non-Performance to JKeart holding it contractually responsible for the failure,” said JCTC, adding that the contractor was “negligent” in ensuring that the switch was placed in the right mode.
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Jurong-Clementi TC clears hose reel cabinet one day after Lianhe Wanbao reports on it
Just one day after Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao reported that mattresses, ladders, and other things that households normally used were being stored in hose reel cabinets at three Housing Board blocks, the Jurong-Clementi Town Council immediately went into action and cleared these cabinets, also informing residents that they cannot keep their household items there. They also promised to continue with their inspections.
The town council informed residents that the cabinets are not allowed as storage spaces because in an emergency, the presence of these items would prevent people from access to the hose. On Friday, November 22, Lianhe Wanbao reported that residents had “stuffed” mattresses, full-length mirrors, suitcases, ladders and other items both inside the cabinets at three HDB flats at Clementi Road 1, namely 422 HDB and 423 HDB, as well as the car park of 419 HDB.
Furthermore, the outside of the hose reel cabinet on the 19th story of Block 422 also had paint buckets, chairs, electric fans and pots.
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MP: A "legislator in Parliament" not an "estate manager"
Veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon has expressed his belief that Members of Parliament (MPs) should not be required to manage the everyday municipal affairs of their wards and that the role of the MP should be to represent his constituents’ views in Parliament and enact laws as a legislator in Parliament.
In a Facebook post published on Monday (18 Nov), Mr Tay said:
- “The role of an MP is primarily that of a legislator in Parliament to enact laws. His role in his constituency is to learn and reflect the views of his constituents regarding the laws of the land.
- “There has been a great misunderstanding of this role as it evolved over the years. The MP is not and never meant to be the manager of the everyday municipal affairs of his constituency. This is and should be done by full time managers employed for this.
- “As legislator he will of course want to seek out the views of his constituents on the laws and regulations that affect the country and also his constituents. Laws such as disallowing PMDs on footpaths or CECA or foreign policy relations with China and USA. His meet the people sessions is for this.”
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The real monkey in the room
With Justice Kannan Ramesh having found Workers’ Party leaders Low Thia Khiang and Sylvia Lim guilty of breaching their fiduciary duties with the Aljunied-Hougang Town Council, the next stages in the lawsuit saga will be the outcome of appeal and decisions on the amounts to be recovered from all parties involved. These are the legal aspects of the case. But the AHTC trial has never been just about the law. The whole thing can also be seen as political. There are a number of takeaways from the trial – the repercussions of which will affect the forthcoming general elections and the political scene in Singapore.
The judge said the town councillor is like the director of a company or members of a strata development management company. The councillor has to discharge his fiduciary obligations – even if he is just a volunteer and paid an honorarium of only $300 a month. Justice Ramesh said: “In fact, the analysis which I have adopted means that the fiduciary relationship between town councillors and their town council is entirely distinct from the political relationship between town councillors and their constituents.”
Put simply, politics is politics and duty is duty – whether or not discharging the duty is done, as the WP put it, in good faith, presumably referring to the lapses. Good faith or not, Justice Ramesh was scathing in his description of the WP leaders who, he said, put their own political interests over that of AHTC. The WP politicians will appeal the findings. Are Singaporeans satisfied with the town council system?
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related:
Padlocked hose reels that could not be used
MP: A "legislator in Parliament" not an "estate manager"
AHTC Saga: The real monkey in the room
Padlocked hose reels that could not be used
MP: A "legislator in Parliament" not an "estate manager"
AHTC Saga: The real monkey in the room
Auditor-General's Report 2016/2017
Auditor-General's Report 2015/2016
Auditor-General's Report 2014/2015
Auditor-General's Report 2013/2014
'Pervasive' lapses in WP town council
Lapses in Governance And Compliance
Auditor-General's Report 2015/2016
Auditor-General's Report 2014/2015
Auditor-General's Report 2013/2014
'Pervasive' lapses in WP town council
Lapses in Governance And Compliance
The AHPETC Saga
MPs debate "Lapses in Governance And Compliance"
Lapses in Governance And Compliance
Town Councils Graded On Corporate Governance
From Desmond Lawrence Sylvia to AHPETC
Social Media Takes On Town Council
Town Council Grants And Surplus Issues
From Adverse-Opinion, Ceiling-Cleaning to Unlicensed-Fair
From AIM AHPETC to PA
From NEA MND MOF to AGO
Low Thia Khiang: "Time for WP-run town councils & NEA to move on"
Dr Vivian: "Clean up and apologise, then we talk"
Sylvia Lim: "Is NEA Playing Politics?"
White Clouds Clearing For Blue Skies
"Worst-case Scenario" Of A 6.9 Million Population
Media release by AHPETC:Minister’s Belated Statement Uncalled For
Paying high salaries to mitigate corruption
Review Of Corporate Governance In Town Councils
MPs debate "Lapses in Governance And Compliance"
Lapses in Governance And Compliance
Town Councils Graded On Corporate Governance
From Desmond Lawrence Sylvia to AHPETC
Social Media Takes On Town Council
Town Council Grants And Surplus Issues
From Adverse-Opinion, Ceiling-Cleaning to Unlicensed-Fair
From AIM AHPETC to PA
From NEA MND MOF to AGO
Low Thia Khiang: "Time for WP-run town councils & NEA to move on"
Dr Vivian: "Clean up and apologise, then we talk"
Sylvia Lim: "Is NEA Playing Politics?"
White Clouds Clearing For Blue Skies
"Worst-case Scenario" Of A 6.9 Million Population
Media release by AHPETC:Minister’s Belated Statement Uncalled For
Paying high salaries to mitigate corruption
Review Of Corporate Governance In Town Councils
