Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has issued a temporary stop-work order to a contractor for Indah Water Consortium (IWK) for leaving a pit uncovered along Jalan Universiti at Section 17, Petaling Jaya.

Yesterday, a car plunged into the 12-metre-deep hole, injuring an elderly man and his maid.

"We have summoned IWK today to brief us on the real situation and find out whether any improvement can be done," said MBPJ councillor Lee Suet Sen.

"We have found that traffic management at the construction site may not be good enough and needs to be improved further," he told Malaysiakini today.

MBPJ has instructed Mangkubimi Sdn Bhd, the IWK contractor, to rectify the problem by covering up the pit, he said.

"Actually, the hole is always covered up, but the contractor opened it yesterday to do some work," he added.

MBPJ was told that the driver of the car failed to observe the instruction given by the traffic warden at the site, said Lee.

Yong Chee Seng, 86, a retired school principal, and a 30-year-old maid survived the 12-m plunge into the three-metre wide hole.

Yong, who is now warded in Universiti Malaya Medical Centre, was quoted by Sin Chew Daily as saying that he failed to notice the hole at the construction site.

"When we were stuck in the hole, water entered the car; we tried but were unable to get out," said Yong.

Yong sustained some gashes and bruises while the maid had injuries on her face. They were rescued by Fire and Rescue personnel after being trapped for an hour.

MBPJ's infrastructure committee will decide next week if it is satisfied with the contractor's safety measures, said Lee.

MBPJ will lift the stop-work order if is is satisfied with the safety precautions taken, he added.

It was reported that MBPJ will issue a compound to the contractor under Section 70 A (4) of the Road, Drainage and Building Act 1976 over the incident.

Lee, however, said MBPJ has yet to decide if it wanted to fine the contractor.

IWK is currently constructing a pipe jacking pit or a centralised severage system in Petaling Jaya to divert all sewerage to an oxidation pond at Bangsar in Kuala Lumpur. The project started last year.