GEORGE TOWN, Nov 3 – Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Failure of Two Civil Structures in the State of Penang, namely the structure at UMNO Building and the collapse of a section of the Penang Second Bridge had been approved by Penang Governor.
Lim said the investigations which were conducted by several engineering experts, namely Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Datuk Dr Gue See Sew and Prof Datuk Roslan Hashim was completed on April 28, and had received the consent of Penang Governor, Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.
In the first incident, scaffold supporting construction of the Second Penang Bridge killed a passing motorist when it collapsed in the evening of June 6, 2013. A week later, the collapse of the fin wall from the roof of the 21-storey tower during a storm killed two people: lorry attendant Jahir Hussain Sulaiman, a passing driver Lim Chin Aik and also several vehicles and properties were damaged.
The report stated the Menara Umno incident that the collapse of the fin wall was due to the failure of the 200-tonne structure, which was designed with engineering knowledge that was “decades old”. The fin wall fell directly on top of the driver and his car. Parts of the smashed car were recovered from the site after days of search but Lim’s body was never recovered.
In its report, the three-member commission who headed by Datuk Yeo Yang Poh on Monday said that the commission was recommended that the Board of Engineers (BEM) initiate disciplinary action against Lee,who had no experience in designing a slender cantilever column on top of a tall building, was incompetent and grossly negligent, and committed multiple serious errors when designing the fin wall.
“The board should also take disciplinary action against Dr Gerry Wong Kong Ming due to the submitting engineer who signed and submitted the engineering drawings to the local planning authorities. In the same time, the errors and inadequacies in the design of the fin wall are design by he, so he must bear responsibility,” it said.
Speaking to reporters here today, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the report was priced at RM200 per copy, together with a compact disc. He said the report had two versions – one in English with 312 pages, and the Bahasa Malaysia version with 287 pages. He said public may get it at Penang State Government Administration, Level 3, Komtar. However, he added that this will be also given free of charge to family members and next-of-kin of the victims of the two incidents.
