A woman and her four-year-old daughter found themselves trapped in a lift at their Bukit Batok condominium, The Dew, on Tuesday morning (Mar. 26), Shin Min Daily News reported.

They were stuck in the lift for an hour and 20 minutes before they were rescued.

Malfunctioned

On the day of the incident, at around 7:50am, the 36-year-old woman and her four-year-old daughter took the lift from the 11th floor to the ground floor.

When they reached the first floor, the lift suddenly malfunctioned, trapping the mother and daughter.

The condominium's security guard was reportedly notified of the situation within seven to eight minutes after the incident occurred.

A lift contractor then reached out to a technician to assist with the situation.

However, the technician took more than an hour to arrive.

Trapped for 80 minutes

The woman's father, Huang (transliterated from Chinese), told Shin Min that he thought the situation would be resolved immediately.

However, his daughter and granddaughter ended up being trapped inside the lift for 80 minutes before they were rescued.

It was hot and stuffy inside the elevator.

Coupled with the hot weather, Huang said his granddaughter gradually had difficulty breathing.

At 8:50am, the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) was contacted to render assistance.

By the time the SCDF arrived at the scene, officers found that there was no need to provide further assistance.

Granddaughter traumatised

Huang said he began looking for his daughter and granddaughter at around 9:10am and saw them being rescued.

According to Huang, his daughter and her family have lived in the condominium for two years and this was the first time they encountered such an incident.

The incident reportedly left a mark on Huang's four-year-old granddaughter.

"It's likely that my granddaughter has been traumatised because she was trapped for too long," Huang said.

"She didn't speak at all. She would usually say goodbye to us, but now she ignores us."

Huang felt that the attitude of the technicians towards handling the situation was unacceptable.

He added that he and his family reserve the right to pursue legal action.

Will provide assistance, if necessary

When contacted by Shin Min, a manager from the company that manages the condominium said that this was not the first time someone was trapped in the building's lift.

However, it was the first time someone was trapped for more than an hour.

The condominium's management will issue a warning to the lift contractor.

They will contact the affected resident as well to provide assistance if necessary.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News.