An incident at a Bangkok mall on Sunday night raises serious questions about the accountability and social responsibility of the management of the many giant shopping centres now dominating the city.
Seacon Square on Srinakarin Road (photo Wikicommons)
The mother of an 11-year boy was forced to stand by in anguish while her 11 year-old child lay in pain for about three hours after his foot was trapped in an escalator at Seacon Square mall on Srinakarin road.
Rescue workers watched on helplessly, prevented from aiding and freeing the youngster while they waited for permission from the mall management, according to news reports and posts on Facebook.
In an interview with ThaiRath newspaper Patcharanan Samutrat, the mother of the boy, Nong Pond, asked the mall management,"How would you feel if your son suffered the same way my boy suffered?"
The incident, including a photo, was posted on Facebook by Anyawut Nakhon 45 Po-ampai, who claims to be one of the rescue workers.
Anyawut wrote "Arrived at the scene but not allowed to get in. It is almost midnight but the accident took place about 9pm and the mall did not ask for help until all the customers were cleared from the mall. Later on, rescue workers arrived with their tools but they were not allowed to get in. After pleading for a while, rescue workers managed to get in and helped free the boy, who suffered deep cuts on his right foot.
"With due respect, we don’t harbour any ill intention against you (management), and merely wanted to help the victim. But we would like you to pay more attention to the safety of customers than to the image of your mall."
It was reported that the rescue team took only 15 minutes to free the boy. But he was first left to suffer for about three hours without getting any help from the management.
I don’t blame the security guards for preventing rescue workers entering with their tools to free the boy’s foot from the escalator without permission from the management.
One guard was reported to have said they feared the escalator might be damaged if they allowed the rescue workers to help the boy. And then they themselves would have to meet the cost of the damage, which they could not afford anyway because of their low pay.
What I did not understand is why the manager did not instruct the security guard chief to let the rescue workers in to do their job, instead of making them wait until he personally arrived at the scene to grant them permission?
What if there was a fire and someone was trapped inside, would the manager have to be present at the scene before rescue workers were allowed in to help?
The big question about this case is whether the management of the mall could be held accountable for preventing help for the victim or for refusing to call for help while its own staff was incapable for doing the job? Would the management do the same thing next time there is another similar accident, or worse?
Silence is golden, or so the management might have thought. But in this case, remaining silent is to avoid responsibility. At the least, they should offer a formal apology to the boy and his family, and promise the public to take better care to ensure the safety of customers. Last but not least, pay the medical bills for the victim, too.