Z
Zhao Yun
Guest
Tuesday January 4, 2011
Blazing house turns out to be illegal dormitory
JOHOR BARU: Firemen had a shock when they discovered that a double-storey house in Kim Teck Park had been turned into an illegal dormitory with 21 rooms.
The occupants pay about RM340 per month or RM20 per day in rental for the “rooms” which are partitioned by plywood and equipped with a fan and mattress. Some of the rooms even have cooking facilities.
Most of the tenants are either Sabahans or foreigners working in Singapore.
The inside of the house, which was turned into an illegal dormitory with 21 rooms, was destroyed in the fire.
The illegal dormitory would not have been discovered had it not been for the fire at the house.
Losses have been estimated at about RM400,000.
A tenant, who did not want to be named, said that he had been renting a room for the past seven months and travelled daily to Singapore to work.
“I was sleeping when I heard people banging on my room door. I thought it was a dream but I suddenly felt very hot and stuffy.
“I was shocked to find a traffic policeman at my door who helped me to get out,” he said, adding that he lost most of his belongings including his passport in the fire.
Firemen inspecting the compound of the doublestorey house.
The man said that it was fortunate that only a few people were in the house when the fire occurred.
Many of the tenants had gone out as it was a public holiday in Singapore.
Another tenant said they were lucky to have been rescued by the policeman, who is attached to the nearby Johor Baru South traffic police headquarters.
The officer was said to have noticed the smoke and rushed to alert the tenants.
Neighbour Yeo Kin Leong, 53, said that he noticed smoke billowing from the second floor of the house and alerted the fire and rescue department at 8am.
“The place was previously a restaurant before it was converted,” he said.
Fire and Rescue Department senior operations officer C.Kesevan said the cause of the fire, which destroyed the house, was being investigated.
When asked about the cubicles, Kesevan replied: “This place is a fire hazard.”
