Owners of
cracked homes get RM985,500
13/05/2009 The
Star
FIFTY-ONE houseowners in Taman Kota Permai in Bukit Mertajam received an
ex-gratia payment of RM985,546 from the Sewerage Service Department as
compensation for damage caused to their houses by a sewerage project in
the area.
Taman Kota Permai special action committee chairman Bernard Cheen said the
houseowners were “generally happy” with the payment.
He said the payment ranged between some RM2,000 and RM43,847 for each
houseowner depending on the extent of damage to their homes.
The houseowners received their cheques from Seberang Prai Municipal
Council president Farizan Darus who represented the department at the
council’s headquarters in Bandar Perda, Bukit Mertajam yesterday.
Taman Kota Permai houseowners showing their cheques to Farizan (right).
Cheen said cracks began appearing in the houses when construction work on
the RM73mil sewerage project began in March 2006.
He said the project contractor had dug two 10m-deep holes to lay an
underground sewerage pipe that cut across the housing area to connect it
to a nearby sewerage plant.
The pipe installation work began in September 2007.
“The contractors could have hit the underground water table that sent
rippling effects to the houses located within a 100m-radius from the
project site,” he said.
Cheen said the department later appointed Kumpulan Ikram Sdn Bhd to
investigate the causes of the cracks within the housing area and to work
out a compensation plan for the residents based on the severity of the
damage to their houses.
An affected resident Ong Hock Poo, 52, who received an ex-gratia of
RM43,847, said she did not expect to receive the money that early.
“In some cases, the payment can take up to 10 years. We are accepting the
payment, although the amount is lesser than our estimated losses,” she
said.
Another resident Syed Jahir Syed Ahamed, 47, said he would use his ex-gratia
of RM38,365 to repair his house after the sewerage project was completed
in October.
“The cracks on my house flooring have caused a section to stick out a
little. I have used duct tape to cover the gap to prevent my little
children from injuring themselves when walking or running in the house,”
he said.
Syed Jahir’s neighbour Thin Chee Hoong, 48, said he could not close his
backdoor after the doorframe collapsed by 2.5cm.
Farizan said the department was still nego-tiating the quantum of ex-gratia
payment for another nine houseowners, who were unhappy with their earlier
proposed amounts.
