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SMRT suspends team linked to tunnel flood
Bishan depot pump system maintenance team suspended
MARIA ALMENOAR, THE STRAITS TIMES
Nov 01, 2017 06:00
Train operator SMRT has found that the team responsible for maintaining a pump system that malfunctioned may have falsified documents by signing off on work that they had not done.
It is suspected that such falsification of maintenance records could stretch all the way back to December last year.
The lapses led to a 20-hour disruption on a section of the North-South Line last month as a train tunnel flooded after a heavy downpour.
The manager and staff responsible for the maintenance of that Bishan depot pump system have been suspended and are assisting in investigations, added SMRT in a statement yesterday evening. It said preliminary reports found that records for quarterly maintenance work as far back as December last year, and in March and June this year, were signed and submitted.
But records show the pumps were not activated on these dates, an action that would be required as part of the maintenance procedure. Nor was access to tracks issued.
The Land Transport Authority will evaluate SMRT's findings on the suspected falsification of maintenance records and make its recommendation on the penalties after full investigations.