Those responsible for construction defects in government-owned buildings must be brought to book said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

Lim's call comes in the wake of three major structural defects found in government-owned buildings - most recently the spanking new Jalan Duta court complex.

In a statement yesterday, Lim said one way to do so is to establish independent inquiries into such incidents.

He cites the case of the 1995 Sampoong Department store collapse in Seoul, South Korea which caused 500 deaths and nearly 1,000 injuries.

"The chairperson of the building was charged for negligence and received a prison sentence of ten and a half years. His son, the store's president, executives of the store and the construction company, were also jailed,

"Several city officials who were bribed to 'close one eye' on the sub-standard construction were also imprisoned," related Lim on the results of the subsequent independent inquiry.

Citing an example closer to home, Lim said the 2004 Nicoll Highway collapse in Singapore which resulted in four deaths and three injuries saw the subsequent public inquiry finding the main contractor as well as public officials responsible for the incident.

"I believe that if the same stringent standards are followed in Malaysia, learning from the lesons of South Korea and Singapore, collapse of public buildings will become a rare event instead of becoming a weekly scandal in the past month," added Lim.

Serial defects

The Jalan Duta court complex- costing RM290 million and touted as the largest in the world - was the third government buildings in three weeks to show obvious signs of decay.

Just hours after officially beginning operations on Thursday, one of the lift in the complex broke down, trapping eight passengers for about 30 minutes.

Large cracks were also clearly visible on certain portion of the complex walls.

Three days earlier, parts of a ceiling collapsed at the brand new court complex in Kuala Lumpur after it failed to withstand the weight of heavy light fixtures.

On April 28, a ceiling had caved in due to a leaky sprinkler system at the Entrepreneur and Co-operative Development Ministry in Putrajaya, south of the capital.

In another incident, the Immigration Department was forced to suspend services to thousands of people and relocate foreign detainees after a burst water pipe inundated its building in Putrajaya last month.

PWD wants powers

The series of incidents left Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi livid and immediately ordered thorough structural checks in all government buildings.

"I feel ashamed. These are new buildings and there are problems. There must be something wrong," Abdullah said according to various news reports.

Following this, Works Minister Samy Vellu announced that his ministry would despatched a team of 'experts' to probe all three incidents soon.

In related development, Samy Vellu said yesterday that he would urge Cabinet next Wednesday to grant full powers to the Public Works Department to monitor and inspect the construction of all government buildings.

"I have gathered all the experts in the field to discuss the matter. If possible, we want special powers for the PWD to inspect and give suggestions on the construction of every government building," he said in a Bernama report.