Owner of collapsed 100-year-old building to meet city council tomorrow

IPOH: The owner of a 100-year-old building which partly collapsed on Saturday at Jalan Datuk Tahwil Azar here will meet Ipoh City Council officers tomorrow to discuss the fate of the premises.
The building, which housed a coffeeshop, salted chicken stall and food stalls, has since been closed for business pending investigation and restoration work.
The owner, Jane Chew, 42, said: "I am still in the dark as to the the next course of action. I will wait for the outcome of the meeting with the council's officers.
"We are losing money due to the closure of the business," she said, adding that she took over the building in 2007.
She has also lodged a police report to claim compensation for damages.
On Saturday, customers at Happy Delicious Salted Chicken restaurant ran for cover when part of the building collapsed at about 11.10am.
The incident occurred as drainage work was carried by the council near the building.
The work is part of a RM3.5 million project which also includes resurfacing roads and installation of street lights.
According to Chew, workers had placed culverts on Friday but its was not deep enough and the workers continued to dig deeper the following day when the incident occurred.
Chew noted her six children, husband and a family member were in the premises but escaped unhurt.
Meanwhile, the council in a statement said the design of the drainage had been changed with the digging work moved between 1.5m and two metres away from the site to prevent any landslip which may affect the building's structure.
The council had ordered the contractor to fence up the area and carry out repair works.
Investigations revealed the soft soil caused the landslip.