Jurong's Westgate flooded with water after wet riser overflow, businesses affected

The underground floors of Westgate shopping mall in Jurong were flooded with water on April 2, after the mall's wet riser overflowed, affecting businesses.

It was reported that the ground on the first and second basement levels was slippery due to the constant flow of water coming from the ceiling.

An employee of a Thai restaurant located at basement 1 (B1) told Shin Min Daily News that she was shocked to see water accumulating inside the store when she walked in at 9am, adding that the tables and chairs were flooded.

"I heard that the water pipe had burst, and the water was full of mud and sand, so it was quite dirty."

The reporter noticed that many staff members of the affected stores were using mops and electric fans to clean and dry up the place in hopes of resuming operations as soon as possible.

A female employee of an electrical appliance store noted that the water accumulated had damaged the goods placed on the floor, with the estimated loss still unknown.

"We spent the whole morning mopping the floor, and we don't know when we can open for business."

Although Scarlett Supermarket on B2 continued operations as usual, the staff were busy cleaning up the water and carrying the goods off the ground.

The escalators connecting the two basement levels were also blocked off for entry, reducing footfall to the supermarket. Several F&B establishments on the same floor remained closed.

Ms Pan, 60, who works at a Korean restaurant, pointed out that the leakage took nearly two hours to clean up and impeded her work.

"I could have started selling at around 9am, but now it's 11am and I haven't prepared anything yet," she complained.

It was reported that by 11.30am, most businesses in B1 had gradually resumed operations, while those in B2 opened about an hour later.

In response to Shin Min Daily News, a spokesperson for Westgate shopping mall apologised for the incident and explained that the mall's wet riser overflowed at about 2.30am, affecting parts of the basement level to the third floor.

The spokesperson added that for safety reasons, the affected areas have been cleaned, and the mall is working with the affected tenants to carry out necessary repairs.

A similar incident at the mall happened back in 2022, where a broken pipe caused water to leak from the ceiling of the atrium.