DBKK intensifies search for owner of Kg Air block
Published on: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
By: Sidney Skinner
City Hall staff checking on the condition of the security tape put up around the corner-lot.
CITY Hall will intensify its efforts to trace the whereabouts of the owner of a five-storey corner block in the Kg Air area, which has been partially renovated, in a bid to get the individual to repair “the canopy” above his/her shop on the ground floor.
A spokesman for the agency’s Building Control Department said the pavement and three parking spaces outside the shop – at the section where Jalan Kg Air 1 meets Jalan Haji Yaakub – were cordoned off earlier this month.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Our Enforcement Team went back on Friday to check on the security tape which had been put up around the common area,” he said.
Bits of cement have come away from the underside of the ledge.
“They found that it was still intact and had not been cut or otherwise tampered with.
“This is the most that we can do, for now, until we succeed in locating the owner.”
He said, a check of City Hall’s records, revealed that the shop and units above belonged to a Bruneian who had intended to have the block converted into a hotel.
ADVERTISEMENT
“The individual apparently fell out with the contractor whom he/she hired which is why the renovation is half done.
“This must have happened before the canopy could be dealt with.”
ADVERTISEMENT
He said this could account for the presence of the scaffolding beams which were presently supporting this overhang.
“We were made to understand that both parties have chosen to settle their differences in court.”
The spokesman was responding to feedback from certain quarters about the safety hazards posed by the cantilever-ledge outside the corner shop in question.
The Inanam resident, who spoke out about this, said the underside of the ledge had become damaged and feared that the weight of the structures built on the cantilever might cause it to collapse at any time.
He said some of the beams which held up this overhang had already been knocked out of place.
The spokesman said the pavement and parking lots were sealed off as City Hall didn’t want any pedestrians or motorists to come to harm in case the canopy gave way and they happened to be caught underneath.
He said the agency had notified the property owner on multiple occasions to attend to the canopy to no avail.
“In one instance, we even had this document sent via registered mail to the address we had on record.
Some of the scaffolding beams, supporting the canopy, were knocked out of place.
TEDDIE of Inanam said he had noticed that bits of concrete had come away from the cantilever.
“I shared my observations with a friend who speculated that this damage might be due to the cement-sand mix used when the ledge was constructed,” he said.
“He also pointed out that structures put up on the overhang, including the balcony which can be seen, might be an added burden on the ledge.”
His companion’s remarks prompted him to seek out City Hall’s assistance.
“Any illegal structures exert an uneven loading on the ledge causing patches of cement to come away from the underside.
“After all, the uneven load might cause parts of the ledge, if not the entire overhang, to collapse at any time, thus, endangering the public.”
Teddie hoped the agency would take the potential hazard seriously, before any untoward incident occurred.
“It’s only a matter of time before this happens.”
The agency has previously warned first-floor unit owners at shophouses around Kota Kinabalu not to encroach onto the canopies outside their premises.
Any structures – including grills and stands for drying laundry – placed in this area could be deemed to be illegal and unit owners would be asked to remove them.
Only compressors for air-conditioning units were permitted on the ledge.
First-floor rate-payers were further informed that they were not allowed to seal of the space on these ledges and use them as extra rooms.
Notices, calling for the illegal structures to be taken down from the canopies, would be served to the errant parties, with the recipients given a grace period in which to comply with City Hall’s instructions.
Failure to do so, could see further action taken against them.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
