Paper model shop floods twice before opening
Two weeks before Mr Lim Kim, 29, could open his first shop , the unit was flooded twice by water flowing out of the sewage drain in the toilet.
The flagship shop for paper model company Ninetyninestates, which is on the second storey of a Housing Board maisonette at Block 462, Crawford Lane, was flooded over the weekend.
On Saturday night, Mr Lim was notified by residents on the third storey that the shared corridor on the second storey was flooded.
He and his wife went to the shop from his home in Tampines and were dismayed to see half the floor flooded with soap water.
Mr Lim told The New Paper over the phone yesterday: "The water came up to my ankle."
Paper stocks and electrical appliances on the vinyl floor were submerged in water. The display paper models, worth $100 each, were also damaged.
With the help of two residents, the couple took half an hour to clear 30 pails of water.
Identifying the sewage drain in the toilet as the source of the flooding, Mr Lim tried to fix the problem with a pump but failed.
After he called the Essential Maintenance Service Unit (provided by the Town Council to attend to urgent essential services requests) for assistance, plumbers stopped the flooding by clearing the main sewage drain in an alley behind the block, of pieces of cloth and renovation debris.
Mr Lim, who moved into the block in late January, estimated the damage at $2,000. He said he had heard renovation debris flowing down the sewage pipe last week.
When the flooding recurred on Sunday night, Mr Lim contacted the HDB contractor in charge of the Home Improvement Programme works in the block.
The contractor helped to clear the sewage pipe in Mr Lim's shop.
When contacted yesterday, an HDB spokesman said a preliminary investigation found the flooding had been caused by "localised chokage at the branch pipe below the second-floor unit".
"At this juncture, there is no indication that the incident is related to the on-going Home Improvement Programme works in the block," added the spokesman.
HDB is carrying out further investigations.
The programme upgrades ageing flats to resolve common maintenance problems.
Mr Lim has postponed his shop opening, initially scheduled for March 30, by a week.
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