A nine-year-old boy was safely rescued after being trapped inside a malfunctioning lift for nearly three hours at a public housing block in Kempas on Saturday, in an incident that initially led his mother to fear he had been abducted.
The boy’s mother, known only as Dappa, 30, said the ordeal began at around 4pm when her son went downstairs to throw away rubbish at Block A of the Projek Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) Kempas but never returned home.
She said concern grew after her elder sister, who lives on the seventh floor of the same block, contacted her to ask whether the child had gone back to their unit on the fourth floor.
“My sister called asking if my son had returned home because he did not go back upstairs. We became worried because nobody knew where he was,” she said.
Dappa said she searched around the flats, checked the playground and contacted her son’s friends, but was unable to locate him.
Fearing the worst, she lodged a police report at the Kempas police station after suspecting her child may have been kidnapped.
However, nearby residents later contacted the family after hearing cries for help coming from inside a lift.
The boy was eventually found at about 7pm trapped inside a lift that had stalled on the second floor.
According to Dappa, her son appeared weak and drenched in sweat when rescued, but fortunately did not suffer breathing difficulties or serious injuries.
“We are thankful he was found safe. He told us he tried pressing the emergency button but it did not function, and he could not force the lift doors open,” she said.
She also claimed the incident was not the first involving faulty lifts at the flats, alleging that several residents had previously been trapped due to repeated breakdowns.
“The situation is becoming worrying, especially for children and elderly residents who can easily panic if trapped. There are three lifts here, but some frequently malfunction. We hope the authorities will replace them before a more serious incident happens,” she said.
Dappa added that residents were disappointed no immediate action was taken despite the lifts being monitored by closed-circuit television (CCTV).
“Usually the management monitors the CCTV and responds quickly if someone is trapped, but this time help only came after neighbours heard my son screaming,” she said.
