15 December 2014. A month after the passing of my beloved Olaf and Anna.
By chance I happen to be around the
vicinity of Bukit Antarabangsa. All of a sudden I had an urge to find out where
is Highland Towers.
I had no idea how the Highland Towers apartment looked like
so it was a trial and error situation looking for the place. I took the wrong
turn and ended up at Jalan Wangsa 9; as there were some condominiums /
apartments there, which I wrongly interpreted to, be Highland Towers
The surrounding view
Different angles
A steep slope
I was subsequently guided by an Indonesian worker at a
Petronas Gas station, informing me that I was way off course and needed to get back to the
highway and turn left just before the bridge.
I did that and after negotiating some corners, found the eerie site.
Only upon further checking, I realized that exactly 22 years
and 4 days ago, tragedy stroke here.
The Highland Towers Block 1 collapsed on 11 December 1993 at
1.35pm in Taman Hillview, Ulu Klang, Selangor, causing the deaths of 48 people
and led to the complete evacuation of the remaining 2 blocks due to safety
concerns.
The Highland Towers consist of Three, 12 story blocks:-
a. Block 1 (built 1977, southern-most)
b. Block 2 (built 1979, north-northwest of block 1, slightly
elevated than the other two,
closer in to the hill)
c. Block 3 (built 1981, northwest of block 1, west of block 2).
Behind the Towers was a small stream of water, known as
'East Creek’ that flowed into the site of the Towers before the Towers'
construction, so a pipe line was built to divert the stream to bypass the
Towers.
When a new housing development project, known as 'Bukit
Antarabangsa Development Project', commenced construction in 1991 on the
hilltop located behind the Towers, the hill was cleared of trees and
land-covering plants, exposing the soil to land erosion.
The water from this new construction site was diverted into
the existing pipe lines used to divert the flow of East Creek which overloaded
the system. Sand and silt from both East Creek and the construction site
infiltrated the pipes causing it to burst at several locations on the hill, and
the surrounding soil had to absorb the excessive water.
The water content in the soil became over-saturated to the
extent that the soil had turned viscous, in effect becoming mud. By October
1992, the hill slope had been saturated with water, and water was seen flowing
down the hill slopes and the retaining walls.
Shortly thereafter, a landslip took place and destroyed the
constructed retaining walls. The landslide contained an estimated 100,000
square meters of mud (a mass equivalent to 200 Boeing 747 jets). The soil
rammed onto the foundation of Block One, incrementally pushing it forward.
After a month of this constant pressure, the foundations snapped and in
November 1993, residents began to see cracks forming and widening on the road
around the Highland Towers, a forewarning of collapse.
After 10 days of continuous rainfalls, the dreaded tragedy
occurred. It is among one of the worst that had stricken the hearts and soul of
our Nation.
Prior to this incident, the attraction of this place were
the natural lush surroundings, steep hills and water stream flowing from the
hills with an extensive view of the city of Kuala Lumpur.
The abandoned Blocks 2 and 3 as of todate, still stands.
A court action was brought by the surviving residents Steven Phoa Cheng Loon & 72 Ors (Plaintiffs) in the High Court, Civil Suite No: S5 - 21 -174 - 1996.
The Defendants and verdict as to apportion of liability are:
1. Highland Properties Sdn Bhd – (Developer and registered
owner of the 3 pieces of
land - Lot 494, 495, & 653 where the tragic
development took place). Liability 15%
2. Wong Tin Sang (Konsortium Jurubina Perunding) –
(Architect). Liability 10%
3. Wong Yuen Kean (Waja Perunding) – (Engineer, brother
of 2nd Defendant).
Liability 10%
4. Majlis Perbandaran Ampang Jaya – (Local Authority). Liability 15%
5. Arab Malaysian Finance Berhad – (Registered Owner of 50
bungalow lots at the rear
of Highland Towers). Liability 30%
6. Tropic Development Sdn Bhd (Carried out clearing works on
the land of the 5th
Defendant)
7. Metrolux Sdn Bhd (Registered owner of the land (Bukit
Antarabangsa) just above
the Arab Malaysian Land and at the material time was
under development).
Liability 10%
8. MBf Property Services Sdn Bhd (Financer for 7th
Defendant). Liability 10%
9. Kerajaan Negeri Selangor (State Government)
10. Pengarah Jabatan Tanah & Galian Negeri Selangor (Director
of Lands & Mines for
Selangor)
The Plaintiffs' claim is for damages caused jointly by the
acts of the Defendants, in causing the collapse of Block 1 and thereby forcing
the Plaintiffs to evacuate and abandon Block 2 & 3.
The Plaintiffs cause of action against the Defendants is
negligence and nuisance under Rylands v Fletcher.
Liability under negligence, defined by Lord Atkin in
Donoughue v Stevenson (1932) A.C. 562 is that every man must take reasonable
care to avoid acts or omissions which he can reasonably foresee would be likely
to injure his neighbor.
To me no amount of money can compensate the loss of a loved one. I pray that the souls in this unfortunate tragedy find peace and is embraced in the loving arms of God.
