By Desmond Ng

IT has been seven long months since these million-dollar semi-detached houses in Siglap have been void of occupants.

For the two homeowners, it has been one piece of bad news after another.

First, a heavy thunderstorm last December unleashed a mudslide of rubble, sand and rocks which broke through a wall and almost bulldozed through their homes.

Then they were ordered to vacate immediately, as the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) declared the two houses to be structurally unsafe.

The semi-detached houses, which are back-to-back and share a common wall, are at Jalan Tanah Puteh, off Siglap.

They are located next to a disused cemetery on state land, and the top of the slope is as high as the roof of the houses before it drops steeply down.

Ordinarily, if the mudslide had originated from state land, the homeowners may have been able to claim compensation from the authorities.

But their luck ran out one more time, because the erosion was from their private land, which extended about two metres from the slope.

Construction costs of reinforcing the slope and repairs to the houses would cost at least $150,000 for each property, one homeowner, Mr S W Ong, estimated. These include building a retaining wall as well as external and internal repairs.

Mr Ong, 77, said it is unlikely his insurance policy will cover mudslides.

He is now getting quotations for the repairs.

The retiree said in Mandarin: 'I don't know how much it will cost exactly, but definitely, it won't be a small sum of money. What to do? If I don't repair, no one can live here.'

For him, the mudslide also meant a loss of rental income since he has been renting his place out for the last six years for under $2,000 a month.

SHAKEN BY SLIDE

He said his tenant was resting at home at the time of the mudslide last December when the incident occurred around 5-6pm. The tenant called him after that.

'He was sleeping when he said he heard a loud sound,' Mr Ong said.

'He sounded quite shaken on the phone. But the most important thing was that he was safe and nothing happened to him.'

The tenant had to move away after that.

Mr Ong bought his 2,000-odd sq ft home at No. 36 for about $1.8 million some 10 years ago. It is probably worth around the same value now, he said. Mr Ong said that he knew a part of the slope belonged to him, and the other part was state land.

The part that belonged to him was not fenced in, and he said he does not know how far his land extended until the authorities told him recently.

When he bought the place 10 years ago, the slope was already there. He does not know why the developer did not fully utilise the private land.

The other homeowner from No10 declined to be interviewed.

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) confirmed that the mudslide involved a private slope, which is owned by the two homeowners.

But it stepped in to help with the slope rectification works since the slope was close to state land.

SLA had first activated its contractor to cover the exposed slope with canvas to divert rainfall, so as to prevent any further mudslide.

Then, workers propped up the affected houses to minimise any structural risks and further slope movement.

SLA said that it is studying further rectification methods with its professional engineer (PE).

The homeowners are also bound by the Building Control Act to appoint a PE to do reinstatement works to the collapsed part to protect surrounding properties from further damages.

An SLA spokesman said: 'Although the mudslide or failed rubble wall is within private land, the owners had difficulty engaging a competent PE to look into the repair works and make an independent assessment, until very recently.

'This could have caused some initial delay in the repair works to be carried out on the private land.'

CUTTING PART OF SLOPE

Both the homeowners and SLA's PEs have recommended that cutting part of the slope may be the best option for now to achieve slope stability.

SLA said it is working with the owners and consulting the relevant agencies to use the safest measure to cut the slope without affecting the cemetery grounds.

A portion of the state land, which is on higher ground, may have to be cut and rectification works done so as to stabilise the slope.

Although there is no danger right now posed to the two properties and their surroundings, SLA understands that the relevant authorities, on the side of caution, is not allowing occupation until the repair and rectification works are completed.

This article was first published in The New Paper on July 28, 2008.