Everything you need to know about the collapse of New World Hotel

Last Updated on 2022-10-06 , 3:09 pm

One of the greatest tragedies of our relatively young nation, the New World Hotel collapse remains a vivid memory in the minds of many Singaporeans who witnessed the incident in 1986.

30 years on, let us take another look at this defining incident that left its mark on all 90s kids.

Where was the New World Hotel?
It was situated at the junction of Serangoon Road and Owen Road. Today, Fortuna Hotel stands in its place.

When did it happen?
It happened on 15 March 1986, at 11.25 am.

What happened?
In actual fact, the building had three main tenants. The Hotel New World occupied the top three floors, while a nightclub and restaurant occupied the second floor. A branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank, now merged with United Overseas Bank, took the ground floor. The whole building, named the Lian Yak Building, basically disintegrated into a pile of rubble, trapping 50 people. 33 people died, including 23 Singaporeans.

Who built the building?
It was built by Ng Khong Lim, who died in the collapse. He was known to have a fiery temper, but was an extremely filial man.

Why did it collapse?
Although there were suspicions of a gas explosion, it was found that instead of a qualified architect, an unqualified draftsman was the one who drew up the plans. Unfortunately, he grossly underestimated the dead weight of the building, which is basically all the concrete and structure; it was a matter of time before the building would fall.

How did it end?
With the owner of the building dead and nobody to take responsibility, it actually ended up as a lesson for Singapore to learn; construction standards were greatly improved, while building safety checks were made across the island to ensure that such an incident would never happen again. The Singapore Civil Defense Force also upgraded its equipment, with its skills and knowledge and is now one of the best in the region.

Now you know why before you can do any renovation works to your house, especially when it comes to removing of walls, you have to seek approval from HDB?

So next time you are pending approval from HDB, don’t complain and say, “It’s my house leh.”

Because if something goes wrong, it’s not just you, but the entire block that suffers the consequences.

Featured Image: behance.net