Monday August 29, 2005

Residents living in fear

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of an apartment block in Brickfields here are at a breaking point – they have been facing a series of problems concerning their block for the last 15 years.

Some of those living in the 20-unit apartment have complained about alleged mismanagement of their premises.

They lamented that a car wash business, which is open to the public, had been thriving within their apartment premises and caused a lot of inconvenience and discomfort to them.

A spokesman, who wanted to be known only as Raj, claimed that residents also had to fork out RM60 a month if they wanted to park in the spaces which they say were rightfully theirs, failing which, the management would disconnect their water or electricity supply.

He said the same action would also be taken if residents failed to pay their RM40 monthly maintenance charges.

WAITING FOR BUSINESS: Equipment used in the car wash business lying idle as there were no cars being washed when this picture was taken yesterday. Residents claim that the car wash operates 12 hours every day. They want the business to stop as it creates a lot of noise and gates are always open to accommodate walk-in customers and this provides little safety to the residents. — STARpic by ABDUL RAHMAN SENIN

“The children’s playground and a garden at the back of the apartment block had been torn down and cemented over to provide more space for the car wash business,” Raj told The Star when met at the block.

A tour around the block revealed that some walls and floors had cracks and exposed wires running all over the place.

Extra rooms have also been built on the ground level that are apparently rented out to businesses, including a fruit stall.

“As a result of these building extensions, the fire protection system and Telekom infrastructure cannot be reached as they have been ‘hidden’ by the rooms. Even the emergency staircase has been blocked by the extension,” Raj said.

Small pockets of space under the staircases have been converted into tiny rooms, with signs of occupation. One of the spaces has been converted into a toilet.

“We are living in fear. Many have moved out because they could not tolerate the problems here,” Raj said.

He claimed that fights frequently broke out at night there because there was no security watch.

The apartment block was built in 1982 and each unit was sold at RM140,000.

The residents have lodged police reports over the mismanagement and also complained to City Hall about the car wash.

Efforts to contact the apartment’s management failed.

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