WITH Christmas less than three weeks away, there is still no telling when Kuching’s CityONE shopping mall, which was hit by an explosion on Tuesday, will reopen for the festive shopping period.

However, Stephen Long, the director of mall owner Kenbest Sdn Bhd, is optimistic that operations will be back to normal in the next few days.

At his first meeting with mall tenants, including the anchor Metrojaya department store, Mydin supermarket and Golden Screen Cinema, Long appealed for their understanding and patience.

He said the mall is still in the custody of police and the Fire and Rescue Department, adding that while the authorities’ investigations into the blast are almost completed, checks by structural engineers, who are tasked with certifying the building’s safety aspects, are ongoing.

The mall tenants were allowed to enter the premises to inspect their stores at 2pm today.

This morning, the mall’s engineering department confirmed that the building’s main switch, air-conditioning system and electrical components “are working well”.

“We have been putting in all our resources around the clock, and working closely with the authorities to get the mall back in action,” Long told the tenants.

“I only ask that the tenants, landlords and shoppers be patient. Safety is of utmost importance.”

Well-wishers have placed flowers and condolence messages at the mall’s entrance, following the explosion that killed three people and injured 41 others.

The three who died in the blast, which ripped through a Korean friend chicken restaurant on the ground floor that had been due to open on Wednesday, were two employees of the eatery and a contractor carrying out renovations. They have been identified as Chin Hsien Loong, 29, of Penang, and Sarawakians O Kui Lim, 49, and Tchee Kiam Jong, 24.

Of those injured, three are warded in Sarawak General Hospital’s intensive care unit.

State Health director Dr Jamilah Hashim has said the 41 hurt suffered burns, breathing difficulties, muscle and tissue injuries, and cuts due to flying debris.

Police have ruled out terrorism and other criminal acts as the cause of the blast.

Leaked gas from the kitchen of the fried chicken restaurant is suspected to be the cause of the explosion, which was felt as far as 500m away. – December 7, 2018.