Stuck many times in faulty lifts

24/08/2007 The Star

HOUSEWIFE Woo Ai Din has lost count of the number of times she has been trapped inside a malfunctioning lift at the Kinta Heights flats in Ipoh.

Although she lives on the eighth floor, the 57-year-old housewife prefers to take the stairs to her flat.

The two lifts, which were installed when the council flats were built in 1982, started breaking down about a decade ago.

“I think I have been stuck in the lift 20 times in the last 10 years!”

“When it malfunctions, the lights go out and it’s scary and pitch dark. You can’t even see your hand in front of your face,” she added.

Her neighbour 72-year-old Cheah Oi Ying also recalls being stuck in a lift full of crying children and panicking residents.

“I’d rather take the stairs, although it makes my legs ache,” said Cheah.

The residents of the 42-year-old Sungai Pari flats, in nearby Buntong, share a similar problem with aging lifts.

Relief is on the way for both places.

State executive councillor Datuk Tan Chin Meng announced that the state government has allocated RM800,000 to install four new elevators – two each at Kinta Heights and the Sungai Pari flats.

The decision was made during a recent state executive council meeting, Tan told re-porters after inspecting the Kinta Heights lifts recently.

Buntong assemblyman Datuk Yik Phooi Hong, who was also present, expressed gratitude for the allocation and pointed out that vandalism was also a problem at the Sungai Pari flats