Two incidents over the past year of children falling to their deaths from homes without window grilles prompted a father to try to install safety grilles on the balcony of his fourth-floor condo unit. The condo management committee repeatedly rejected his requests and stopped workers from installing the grilles, deeming the balcony a "roof garden" which is not subject to safety grille laws. The father fears for the safety of his young children and disputes that the balcony can be classified as a roof garden given its location on a lower floor.

1. news news
There have been two reported
incidents over the past year of
children falling to their deaths from
homes that did not have window
grilles.
In January this year, a three-
year-old girl fell out of a fourth-
storey flat in Serangoon North
Avenue 4. She died 24 days later
of pneumonia following severe
traumatic brain injury.
Before that, in October last year,
a four-year-old boy fell nine storeys
to his death from the master
bedroom of his flat in Yishun Ring
Road.
Two deaThs
in pasT year
The safety of children is paramount,
especially where young children
are involved, says the Building and
Construction Authority (BCA).
Its spokesman told The New Paper yesterday:
“A subsidiary proprietor or occupier of a lot
shall not be prevented from installing any struc-
ture or device to prevent harm to children un-
der the prescribed by-laws of the Building Main-
tenance (Strata Management) Regulations.”
Lawyer Toh Kok Seng from the Lee & Lee law
firm said that management committees (MC) of
condominiums that are under the Management
Corporation Strata Title (MCST) cannot over-
rule the Building Maintenance and Strata Man-
agement Act (BMSMA).
“MCST cannot make decisions that are con-
trary to the BMSMA prescribed by-laws,” he
said.
But he added that they are allowed to pre-
scribe a certain style or design to achieve some
uniformity of facade in the condos.
GUideLines
A BCA spokesman said: “The MC should put in
place a set of design guidelines, which could
be passed as a by-law at a general meeting, and
subsequently adopted by the residents.
“If there are no design guidelines, the MC
should consider requests for the installation of
such structures or devices on a case-by-case ba-
sis by taking into account the safety of the resi-
dents, especially children, which must take pri-
ority over other considerations such as design
and aesthetics.”
Earlier this year, The Straits Times report-
ed on a family who won a legal case to install
grilles in their condominium unit.
Dr Sujit Singh Gill was twice refused permis-
sion by the management corporation of One
North Residences to install grilles in his 13th-
storey unit.
When he applied to the Strata Titles Boards
(STB), it ruled in favour of his family on the
grounds that children’s safety must be para-
mount, even if the grilles may affect the appear-
ance of the building.
Mr Toh and his colleague, Mr Daniel Chan,
who represented Dr Singh, said that owners
who have problems getting approval to install
grilles in their homes should seek legal help to
apply to the STB.
Mr Chan said: “It may take some time for the
owner to get the outcome they desire through
the legal process, but if the council of the con-
dominium is resolute in its refusal to permit
the installation of grilles, this is the only way to
compel them to allow the installation.”
Children’s safety
takes priority
over design: BCa
February Family buys a $2 million
two-storey penthouse at 19 Shelford
condominium.
May 23 Mr Zou Xiang sends
an e-mail to the management
committee (MC) under the
Management Corporation Strata
Title (MCST) about installing grilles
on his balcony.
May 25 The MC rejects his request
without offering alternative
measures.
When he appeals, the MC tells
him to seek approval from council
members of the condo. His e-mail
is forwarded to them.
May 27 The MC requests detailed
drawings of the installation for
consideration. Mr Zou submits the
drawings a day later.
June 18 Mr Zou moves in with his
family and is told by the MC that
his appeal will be brought up at a
general meeting on June 23.
June 24 The MC says the council
members need to seek approval
from the relevant authorities
July 4 Mr Zou does not receive
approval and writes to the Building
and Construction Authority (BCA).
July 8 BCA advises him to check
with the MC for its reasons for the
rejection.
BCA also informs him that he
can seek legal help to apply to the
Strata Titles Board, but he opts not
to do so.
Aug 17 Mr Zou tries to install the
grilles, but the MCST stops the
workers.
Aug 20 The MC issues a warning
letter notifying Mr Zou that he
had not received permission to
begin renovation works, and seeks
his cooperation to remove any
installation done to the balcony on
Aug 17.
Aug 25 The MC issues a letter
notifying Mr Zou that his balcony is
classified as a “roof garden”.
TimeLine
Reports by CYNTHIA CHOO
chooxlc@sph.com.sg
When he bought a $2 million double-
storey penthouse at 19 Shelford
condominium, off Adam Road, in
February, he thought he had secured a
good future for his two children because
good schools are nearby.
Then, Mr Zou Xiang, 41, a software engineer, re-
alised that the balcony of his fourth-storey unit
did not have grilles.
Instead of a low wall, it has horizontal rail-
ings, which makes it easy for young children to
climb up or slip through the gaps between the
railings.
Realising the danger, he tried to protect his
son, four, and daughter, three, by installing
grilles on the balcony.
But the condo’s management committee (MC)
rejected his application and subsequent appeal.
When he tried to go ahead with the instal-
lation, the MC stopped the workers and even
called the police.
At 5.30pm yesterday, the dispute took a sur-
real turn when the MC sent him a letter to tell
him that his balcony has been classified as a
“roof garden”.
This came after Mr Zou wrote to the Building
and Construction Authority (BCA) and was told
that he should be allowed to install the grilles
because his children’s safety takes priority over
design. (See report, far right.)
According to the MC’s letter, since the balco-
ny is a roof garden, the BCA by-law that struc-
tures and devices can be built on windows and
balconies for the safety of children does not ap-
ply.
A shocked Mr Zou questioned how the 16 sq
m balcony could be classified as a “roof garden”
‘They are
PREVENTION: (Left) Mr Zou Xiang got a contractor to install four
panels of ‘invisible’ grilles, but after only two panels were installed,
the condo management stopped the works. (Above) He has also
cable-tied sheets of green plastic mesh over the railings.
PHOTOS: JONATHAN CHOO, COURTESY OF ZOU XIANG
when it is on the lower floor of his two-storey
unit, which has no access to the roof.
“I feel like they are playing a word game with
me,” he told The New Paper yesterday.
“Over the past two months, the term ‘roof
garden’ has not once been mentioned to me.
How can they be so unsympathetic towards the
safety of children? This is too much.”
When TNP checked with the BCA, its spokes-
man said: “Safety is important, especially
where young children are involved.
“Therefore, owners shall not be prevented
from installing any structure or device to pre-
vent harm to children under the prescribed by-
laws of the Building Maintenance (Strata Man-
agement) Regulations 2005.”
Mr Zou first wrote to the MC on May 23, about
a month before he moved into his new home, to
seek approval to install the grilles.
What followed were several exchanges be-
tween them without approval being granted.
(See report, right.)
In July, the family had a close call when their
domestic helper caught their son leaning pre-
cariously over the balcony’s ledge while waiting
for his father to return from work.
His horrified parents cable-tied sheets of
green plastic mesh over the railings to prevent
the children from climbing up.
Mr Zou said: “But it was not foolproof as my
children could still fall over any time.”
Then, on Aug 3, they read about a three-year-
old girl who died about a month after falling
from the balcony window of a fourth-storey flat
in January.
That was the last straw for them. They decid-
ed to go ahead and install the grilles.
Mr Zou said: “We knew we were risking it
by going ahead without permission. But we
couldn’t wait any more. While we wait, tragedy
could strike at any time.”
They hired a contractor to install four pan-
els of “invisible” grilles across the balcony on
Aug 17.
But that afternoon, after two panels had been
installed, council members entered their apart-
ment and stopped the workers. They confiscat-
ed the workers’ visitor passes and called the po-
lice.
When TNP approached the condo’s MC on
Tuesday, the managing agent said that only
council members could comment and he would
try to get a response from them.
But there was no response by press time last
night.
LosT sLeep
Mr Zou said he has lost sleep over the dispute
and will rush home after work to make sure his
children are safe.
His wife also calls their helper at least three
times a day to ensure the children stay away
from the balcony.
Mr Zou said: “Previously, I could work peace-
fully, but now I am constantly worried about
my children while at work.”
Mr Zou has contacted his Member of Parlia-
ment, Ms Sim Ann (Holland-Bukit Timah GRC),
for help and was told that he should raise the
matter again at the next general meeting and
try to settle the dispute amicably.
When contacted by TNP, Ms Sim said: “At
times, condo residents approach me concern-
ing disagreements with their MCs.
“In such cases, we would speak with the MC
to understand their side of the story and see if
the issue can be resolved.
“If both sides think we can be of help in fa-
cilitating further discussion, we are always glad
to try.”
Father of two wants to install grilles
on home balcony to keep kids safe,
but condo management says no
and calls it a roof garden. He says:
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playing
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