Report: Probe on Taman Desa crane crash may lead to court case

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 29): The probe into the crane accident in Taman Desa last week could lead to a possible court case, said the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) yesterday.

In a report by the Malay Mail, the department’s deputy director-general Omar Mat Piah told the daily that DOSH is continuing to investigate the accident and that evidence gathered at the work site of The Address condominium could be used in court.

“However we cannot say more on the matter or divulge the cause of the crane crash at this point in time,” he told the Malay Mail.

On Jan 23, a crane at the site of the contentious high-rise development in Taman Desa had fallen into the compound of the adjacent Tiara Faber Condominium. Read the story here

The Address, which comprises three towers of over 30 storeys, will come up on a 132ft-wide parcel originally earmarked as a Tenaga Nasional Bhd reserve.

Besides Tiara Faber Condominium, the site is also surrounded by two low-rise condos, namely Desa 8 (12 storeys) and Desa 1 Residences (13 storeys), as well as two primary schools and one secondary school.

Residents of the area have been up in arms over the development, which has received approval from Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to increase the area’s density from 60 persons per acre to over 650 persons per acre.

Local residents have banded together to file a judicial review against DBKL for allowing the development, and have also lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the conversion and subsequent sale of land to a private developer.