'Our worst fears have come true'
Malay Mail 16/12/2004

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of Taman Desa in Seputeh are living in fear following the collapse of a partially-built townhouse in Lorong Jugra which killed a construction worker on Tuesday night.

They claimed that their worst fears over the project had come true.

A relative of one of the homeowners, Ranee Kumar, 58, said they had expressed their concerns over the safety of the project to the developer last August.

"The developer, however, refused to entertain our queries and complaints," claimed the housewife whose family owns a house along Jalan Meru, which is adjacent to the construction site.

Ranee said she had also contacted City Hall and was told that a stop-work order had been issued sometime this year.

"I was surprised to hear that construction was still being carried out even at night. We do not oppose development, but it should not be done in a manner which endangers lives," she said.

Another resident, who wished to be identified only as Lim, said before the collapse of the townhouse, a landslide had occurred along Jalan Meru in August, which saw a corner lot adjacent to the construction site covered in debris.

"Although the developer cleared up the mess, that incident set alarm bells ringing. Our worst fears are now confirmed with the death of the construction worker," said Lim, whose family has been living there for almost 20 years.

When The Malay Mail visited the site yesterday, construction work had ceased following the accident.

Residents said the townhouses were being built on top of a one- and-a- half storey retaining wall, on which were visible cracks.

On Tuesday about 8.30pm, a construction worker from Aceh, known only as Elis, 28, was killed when a section of the area he was working on gave way.

Two of his colleagues, identified only as Abiet and Samuri, were seriously injured and admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre.

The collapsed four-storey townhouse is part of a 53-unit development, on the hill slopes of Bukit Desa overlooking Jalan Klang Lama.