Man falls to his death in lift shaft
New Straits Times 21/2/2006

BAYAN LEPAS, Mon

One dead. But it could easily have been three.

All because of a faulty lift at the Sri Bayu Apartments here, Sahrudin Yusof plunged to his death at 7.15am.

When the lift doors opened on the fifth floor of the apartment block, the father of three stepped into the empty lift shaft. Tragically, it appears that Sahrudin did not notice that the lift car was not there as the area was dimly lit.

His fall was witnessed by fellow residents Jamaria Ismail, 48, and her son, Mohamad Malik Zulkifli, 12, who moments earlier had avoided a similar fate.

Jamaria, who was taking her son to school, said she had quickly pulled Mohamad Malik away when she saw that the lift car was not there.

"As we were walking away, Sahrudin suddenly appeared from the staircase and walked into the lift. It all happened so fast. I had no chance to warn him," she said.

Mohamad Malik was terrified when he saw the man fall.

IT COULD HAVE BEEN ME: Mohamad Malik reliving the moments of the tragedy.

"I was so scared I hugged my mum tightly when he fell. I could hear him hitting the walls before it became quiet again," he said.

Sahrudin’s wife, Fatimah Hamid, 37, said her husband was not working today and she did not know why he had gone out of their house so early in the morning.

Resident Zahir Naina Mohamed, 44, said the lift had given trouble frequently since November.

"It is very unreliable and broke down again yesterday," he said. "We informed the maintenance company and its workmen were supposed to repair it today."

State Housing Committee chairman Syed Amerrudin Syed Ahmad has ordered an investigation.