Video of child on balcony ledge prompts call for extra safety measures

 

Screen grabs of the video showing the girl climbing onto the ledge and then suddenly climbing back into the balcony of a high-rise flat.

PETALING JAYA: A viral video clip of a little girl climbing over her flat’s balcony and wandering precariously on the ledge has prompted the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) to call on the government to insist on additional safety measures before approving building plans.

The clip shows the girl, who appears to be on the 10th or 11th storey of the building, looking down after climbing onto the ledge and suddenly climbing back into the balcony.

There are no details as to where or when the incident took place.

CAP president Mohideen Abdul Kader said this incident could be considered a “great escape” for the child but that such incidents could turn ugly if they happened too often.

Many parents were leaving their young ones at home while they went out to work, he said in a statement.

He said the ease with which the girl in the video climbed over the railing onto the balcony ledge showed that the building’s safety measures were inadequate.

“Safety measures must be integrated into the structure of the building itself to prevent tragedies involving children staying in high-rise buildings,” he said, noting that more people would be staying in high-rise buildings in future.

Mohideen said the authorities needed to understand that parents could not always monitor their children, and that being naturally curious, children would attempt such dangerous acts.

In 2018, the housing and local government ministry embarked on a study of safety elements in high-rise buildings to prevent accidents after a child fell off a flat in Kuala Lumpur and died.

“We do not know what came out of the study. However, the housing ministry needs to investigate this incident and implement effective safety measures to protect the children living in high-rise buildings,” he said. - FMT