Workers take stairs after all 4 lifts break down at Golden Mile Tower
Two of the building's four lifts have been closed for upgrading for almost two months, while a third stopped working two weeks back, workers at the building told The Straits Times.
This left just one functional lift to service the building - until it gave way last Thursday.
When contacted, the building management did not confirm the duration of each lift's closure but a circular dated on Monday was put up at the lift lobby informing workers of the latest breakdown.
It said lift contractor Kone is "working around the clock" with its subcontractor to push forward the completion of upgrading works at one of the lifts, and it should be operational by this Friday or earlier.
This has given little consolation to the workers there.
Madam Goh Kah Chu, 69, takes 15 minutes to get to her office on the 18th storey and has to take regular breaks during her climb up.
"My muscles will be painful but I just climb slowly," said Madam Goh, who works as an administrator in a logistics firm.
She added that all four lifts have been out of operation at the same time on at least three occasions in the past two years.
"Usually at least one lift will be repaired within a day," Madam Goh said.
"This is the longest that all the lifts have been out of operation."
When The Straits Times visited the building at lunchtime yesterday, all four lifts were barricaded, two of them with signs that they are being closed for upgrading.
About 30 people were seen going up and down the stairs between 11.30am and 12.30pm. The ageing building was completed in 1974.
"Everyone is fed up," said lawyer Edmund Hendrick, 57, who works on the 16th storey.
"It has been going on for so long. Something should have been done a long time ago."
Building manager Fong Kah Wai said the lifts are about 25 years old and have parts that are obsolete. He declined to comment further.
Workers in the building said the lifts have been facing several technical issues.
Last November, Ms Queenie Chong, 22, said she was in the lift when it dropped three floors and came to a stop in between the fifth and sixth levels.
"We were in the lift for 15 minutes before someone on the fifth storey prised open the lift doors from outside," said the account assistant who works on the 22nd storey.
Kone could not be reached for comment.
-- The New Paper