A 71-year-old woman in Singapore recently lost her case against a town council after she sued it for negligence following a drain fall in 2021.
Bukit Panjang resident Madam Chan Chui Yoke argued that the Holland-Bukit Panjang Town Council were negligent in their cleaning of the drain.
She said this led to her fall, during which she fractured her finger and tore her Achilles tendon.
According to court reports, Madam Chan sued the town council for over S$60,000 but lost the claim.
District Judge Teo Guan Kee ruled that the town council was not careless in its actions.
In fact, he pointed out that the town council had left the drain covers partially open for legitimate cleaning purposes.
The Straits Times (ST) reported that a property manager for the town council testified that the drain had been intentionally left open for cleaning.
Additionally, this move was also to hamper mosquito breeding in the area. The manager said this was in accordance with National Environment Agency guidelines.
Channel NewsAsia (CNA) also reported that the judge recognised that it’s common for town councils to leave perimeter drains partially uncovered.
District Judge Teo further highlighted that the resident still made the crossing despite knowing that she could have fallen.
He responded to Madam Chan’s claim that she was careful about her first crossing and questioned why she was not as cautious the second time.
He pointed out that there was no evidence that other people fell into the drain frequently.
The plaintiff also did not provide evidence that she had been careful in crossing the drain a second time.
A town council representative stated that they were other pavements and walkways that she could have used.
As such, the court dismissed her claims entirely.
The resident was 69 years old when the unfortunate accident occurred on 8 Feb 2021.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, the event happened behind Blk 276 Bangkit Road in Bukit Panjang. The elderly woman had crossed the drain once to water the plants on the ground level.
She then suffered a fall on her second crossing over the uncovered drain.
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Featured image adapted from Lianhe Zaobao.
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