Corruption Really Kills...
I watched a few documentaries on building collapses recently and the latest one was just before the Barcelona-AC Milan football match.
I did not see the title of the documentary but the main story was about the Sampoong Department Store in Seoul, South Korea that collapsed like a stack of cards in 30th June 1995.
The various corners that were cut is detailed in this article and it is interesting to note that the first contractor was sacked as the company objected to the various design changes.
An in-house contractor was used instead and all the faults were accepted. When the building collapsed, 501 people died and hundreds injured.
After the inquiry, the building owners were jailed together with a dozen government building inspectors. The documentary did not say if corruption was involved or just sheer negligence.
Singapore also had the New World Hotel disaster where the inquiry discovered the design was terribly flawed. The draughtsman had omitted the dead load and only calculated the structure for the live load.
Malaysia too had the Highlands Towers collapse in the 80s where whole apartment blocks fell over as the foundations had been eroded by a drainage system approved by the local authorities. So far the authorities have claimed protection under an exclusion clause in the acts governing town councils.
Perhaps someone will take up a case against them under tort or criminal negligence. Any lawyers out there? My wannabe lawyer son is not in at the present.
So the next time you go shopping in a mall built by in-house builders watch out for cracks in the ceiling and beams. It is a sign of a disaster in the making.
photo:http://www.bscbuildingsurveyors.com/home_files/Building_surveying-Cracks_on_wall_tiles_in_toilet_(2).jpg
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