Faulty pipe caused water leakage and ‘very bad odour’ at Jem mall

SINGAPORE – A “faulty F&B pipe” caused water to rain down from the ceiling and pool outside some shops at Jurong East mall Jem on Nov 25.

In response to queries, a spokesperson from Lendlease said they are aware of the incident and “immediate action was taken to identify the source of the issue”.

Repair works were completed by the afternoon of Nov 26, the spokesperson added, and affected tenants are being assisted.

“Of the tenants affected, only one is unable to resume trading. We are working closely with and rendering assistance to the tenant,” the spokesperson said on Nov 27, but did not respond to queries about how many tenants were affected by this incident and what an F&B pipe is.

Mr Herman Teo, 37, said he and his wife had left the cinema at about 10.40pm when his wife remarked that it sounded like it was raining.

Walking towards an exit on the first floor, they were very surprised to see that the sound came from water falling from the ceiling in the shopping mall.

Mr Teo said the water had a “very bad, faecal odour” and seemed to be “very dirty” with bubbles and “mud-like particles”.

His wife was afraid of getting “rained” on, he added.

The public servant, who works in the office tower at Jem and lives next to the mall, said he observed the situation for about 20 minutes before leaving because he often eats at the mall and it is like a “second home”.

“The volume was large enough to cause water to flow towards Scoop Wholefoods on one side and Chicha San Chen on the other,” he added.

Videos of the incident show water pooling outside several shops including 4Fingers, Scoop Wholefoods Singapore, Awfully Chocolate, Chicha San Chen and Tempura Makino.

Mr Teo said most shops were closed by then but he saw some employees moving electronics such as television screens away from the water, while others used mops to clear the water out of the store.