‘Rusty railing may be to blame’

PETALING JAYA: A three-year-old died after falling off a 17th-floor balcony at the People’s Housing Project (PPR) in Kota Damansara here, sparking questions of safety at such dwellings.

Siti Nur Nadhirah Hairul Anuar is said to have climbed up a plastic chair before she fell over the balcony railing at 7am yesterday.

One of the residents, Erni Farhana Radzuan, said the girl’s parents were selling nasi lemak in Shah Alam while a 14-year-old sister was out sending their six-year-old brother to kindergarten when the incident occurred.

“I was sending my child to school when I saw the girl’s body sprawled on the ground,” said Erni.

“I was shocked. When I found out whose child she was. I tried calling the parents but couldn’t get them, so I went to get her siblings,” said the 32-year-old.

She said the balcony’s rusted metal railing might have contributed to the accident.

Tragic accident: Hawa said complaints had been made to the management about the safety of the buildings but these were largely not acted upon.  

“The building lacks safety aspects,” she said, adding that residents there often threw rubbish, flower vases and bottles from the floors above.

Another resident, Hawa Hashim, said the incident was not an isolated one at the PPR there.

“About two years ago, a child also fell from the flat and died,” said the 50-year-old housewife who has lived there for 16 years.

She added that complaints had been made to the management about the safety of the buildings but these were largely not acted upon.

Siti Nur Nadhirah’s body was sent to Hospital Sungai Buloh for a post-­mortem after the police and the girl’s parents arrived at the scene.

The girl’s parents, Hairul Anuar Kusnan and Rozneen Hashim, said they accepted what had happened and did not blame their teenage daughter for leaving the flat.

Ali Firdaus, an officer to the Selangor Housing and Urban Living Committee chairman Haniza Talha, said the state government would look into the safety and social aspects of the affordable flats.

The building, he said, was under the management of the Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor Holdings Sdn Bhd (PHSB).

“We will engage with PHSB. From the information we have gathered so far, it appears that the building’s infrastructure is still all right,” he said.

He added that the state government had spent RM5mil upgrading the balcony railings a couple of years back, though maintenance and upgrading works might be due.