Vehicles trapped for 3 hours inside Chinatown carpark because of faulty gantry
A malfunctioning carpark gantry in Chinatown caused a multi-story jam that lasted some three hours on Saturday (Jan 7).
With the Chinatown area already congested with shoppers ahead of Chinese New Year, there were estimated to be around 100 cars stuck in the carpark at the time, according to Shin Min Daily News.
The said carpark at Block 33, Upper Cross Street, adjacent to the Chinatown Pearl Square Cooked Food Centre, is usually packed on weekends and peak hours.
One of the drivers, surnamed Hong, said he was about to drive out from his parking space on the sixth floor of the car park at 8.30pm.
The 64-year-old then noticed a snaking queue of stationary vehicles on the sixth floor, and went downstairs to check after "waiting for a while".
He realised that the gantry barriers at the car park's exit on the ground floor had malfunctioned, leaving a long line of cars trapped inside the building.
Frustrated with the long hold up, Hong said several drivers in the queue began blasting their horns, which went on for nearly two hours.
It was not until 11.30pm when the gantry barriers started working again, he said.
"I waited for three hours before I could go out. It was almost like going to Johor Bahru after clearing customs," Hong added.
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