Man screams at maid to jump off escalator just before it breaks down at The Centrepoint

Stomp contributor Minh was travelling down an escalator at The Centrepoint with his maid at around 2.05pm on Thursday (Sep 7) when the escalator suddenly broke down.

According to Minh, he heard the sound of "crunching metal" right after he got off the escalator and quickly turned to shout at his maid to jump.

"Luckily she did (jump), if not, her leg would have been injured or crushed," he said.

Despite her quick reaction, Minh's maid still suffered minor scratches on her leg and was shaken by the incident.

"A security guard told me that the escalator is relatively new and is in a part of the mall that has just been renovated," the Stomp contributor said.

In photos shared by Minh, the metal steps of the escalator appear crushed.

Minh told Stomp that he has reported the incident to the mall's management.

"If you hear sounds that don't seem right on an escalator, my only advice is to get off it quickly. Better to be safe than sorry."

In response to Stomp media queries, a spokesman for The Centrepoint issued the following response:

"An escalator located at Basement 1 of The Centrepoint broke down at 2.10pm yesterday (Sep 7).

"Two shoppers with a stroller were using the escalator when the incident happened. One of the shoppers suffered a scratch on her leg. We are in touch with the shoppers.

"We have notified the Building and Construction Authority and are working with escalator vendor OTIS to investigate the incident. We regret any inconvenience caused and continue to encourage all shoppers with luggage, prams or trolleys to use the lifts instead.

"The escalator is currently closed for maintenance until further notice."

A BCA spokesman informed Stomp that they would be carrying out their own investigations into the incident:

"BCA was notified of an escalator incident involving a pram, at The Centrepoint and our engineers inspected the escalator yesterday.

"BCA will be issuing a Notice to Suspend the escalator and the escalator owner is required to engage an Authorised Examiner (AE) to investigate into the incident, recommend rectification works and submit a report to BCA. BCA will also be conducting an independent investigation into the incident.

"The escalator will only be allowed to resume operation after rectification works are completed, to the satisfaction of BCA."