A 50-year-old woman has died after security guards at a Selangor condominium allegedly held back emergency medical responders for 45 minutes while waiting for clearance from their superiors.
The incident has since prompted Malaysian philanthropist Kuan Chee Heng, better known as Uncle Kentang, to speak out forcefully against what he describes as dangerously rigid condominium management practices.
What happened that night
According to Uncle Kentang, who shared the incident on his Facebook page, the woman had suffered a cardiac arrest when his business partner attempted to bring medical services into the premises. The guards refused to allow entry until they had received the green light from those higher up the chain of command. By the time anyone reached her unit, it was already too late.
“Condominium management did not let my business partner in for a good 45 minutes. It is a medical emergency. Guards stood firm and denied entry… until they obtained clearance from their top bosses. When they reached the unit, the lady had long gone to heaven,” he wrote.
In a particularly grim detail, the same guards who had blocked the emergency responders later assisted Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) officers in carrying the woman’s body to a police truck for transportation to a hospital for a post-mortem.
A system that is not built for emergencies
Beyond the incident itself, Uncle Kentang raised a broader concern about the state of emergency preparedness in residential buildings across the country. He pointed out that many condominium buildings do not have Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) on the premises, which he described as a serious gap in basic safety readiness.
“This is a stark reality with condominium managements. The higher the security you have, with rigid standards and instructions, the more fatal it can be during a medical emergency. Please inform your guards and your condominium management to facilitate fast medical responses,” he urged.
His call to the government
Uncle Kentang is now calling on the authorities to step in and make AED units mandatory in all condominium and apartment buildings. He also called for management bodies to receive proper training on how to handle medical, fire and hostile emergencies.
“Most Joint Management Body (JMB) managements act like tai kors but never use their brains to sit together to handle medical, fire, or hostile emergencies,” he said.
“They are good at denying entry if you are late in paying JMB fees or maintenance fees. This cannot be tolerated. It can cost lives, and even the JMB members can suffer cardiac arrests, too. Do not be careless and stupid. One day, your family members might suffer the same conditions, and the guards will tell you to wait for instructions.”
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