An 86-year-old woman narrowly avoided being struck when a large section of plaster suddenly fell from the bathroom ceiling of her Yishun HDB flat.
The incident happened at Block 118 Yishun Ring Road on Aug. 17, while renovation works were being carried out at the unit directly above. The fallen section measured about 50cm long, 30cm wide and 5cm thick, according to the woman’s family.
The woman’s son, identified as Chen, told Chinese-language media that his mother and his wife were the only people at home when they heard a loud crashing sound from the kitchen bathroom at around 9am.
Large section of ceiling crashes onto bathroom floor
According to Shin Min Daily News, When they went to check, they found chunks of plaster scattered across the floor beneath the sink. The impact also exposed steel reinforcement bars within the ceiling.
Chen said his mother normally goes to the toilet around that time every morning. Had she entered the bathroom just a few minutes later, she could potentially have been underneath the falling debris.
The fallen piece was estimated to weigh between 2kg and 3kg, making the incident particularly concerning given that the bathroom was regularly used by the elderly resident.
Chen subsequently contacted the authorities and an official arrived at around 1.30pm to inspect the damage. Photographs were taken before the official went upstairs to speak with those carrying out the renovation works.
Cracks appeared after demolition began
The family said they had already noticed warning signs before the ceiling partially collapsed.
Chen reportedly noticed small cracks appearing in the ceiling of the master bedroom bathroom on Aug. 11, the first day demolition works began at the flat above.
The renovation notice displayed near the HDB lift stated that works were scheduled from Aug. 11 to Sep. 9, with demolition originally planned for Aug. 11 to 13.
Chen said the family became increasingly worried as the cracks appeared, before the more serious collapse occurred in the kitchen bathroom.
He also asked workers to remove some loose plaster from the affected area to reduce the possibility of additional pieces falling.
Contractor says ceiling had previously leaked
The contractor overseeing the renovation acknowledged that plaster had fallen from the ceiling of the unit below.
According to the contractor, the renovation involved two bathrooms and a kitchen, including waterproofing works in the bathrooms.
She said Chen had contacted the renovation team around two or three weeks earlier to report that the ceiling had started leaking.
Although demolition had been scheduled to take place over three days, the contractor said the work was completed on the first day.
She suspected that water from the leak had weakened the plaster, leaving it vulnerable to falling when exposed to even a small amount of impact or vibration during the renovation.
The contractor said the renovation team did not intend to avoid responsibility and would repair the damaged ceiling at no cost after the renovation works were completed.
Meanwhile, Chen said his family had lived in the Yishun flat for more than 10 years and had never experienced anything similar.
The family remains concerned about additional loose material falling from the ceiling, although they have continued using the bathroom for the time being.
The incident serves as a reminder of the potential risks that renovation and demolition works can pose to neighbouring HDB units, particularly where existing leaks, cracks or weakened building materials are involved.
For the elderly resident, however, the immediate outcome was a fortunate one: the heavy section of plaster fell while nobody was standing directly underneath it.