Water heater safety: what we told CNA after three family members died in the Jurong Lakeside flat
An elderly couple and their son died in their Jurong Lakeside flat after a wrongly-wired water heater overheated. CNA interviewed our director Benetton Chan about what went wrong and the safety checks every Singapore home should do. Possibly the most important read on this site.
In December 2020, an elderly couple and their son died in a flat in Jurong Lakeside. They were electrocuted because the cables in the plug supplying power to their instant water heater had fused together. When investigators later opened the plug, the cables inside were "badly burnt" — the earth cable and neutral cable had melted into each other.
Channel News Asia covered the case and interviewed our director, Benetton Chan, as part of their reporting on how Singapore homeowners can prevent it happening again. What follows is the safety story expanded — what went wrong, what every home should check, and what to do if something looks off.
What actually happened at Jurong Lakeside
The flat's instant water heater was connected to a three-pin plug, plugged into an extension outlet, which was in turn plugged into a power outlet in the kitchen — a chain that runs through three connection points before reaching the heater.
At the coroner's inquiry, an Energy Market Authority engineer testified that the household's electrical circuit had two wiring systems: an older one from 1971, and a newer one installed when the flat went through HDB's Main Upgrading Programme in 2003. A Residual Current Circuit Breaker (RCCB) had been installed during the upgrade — but only for the newer 2003 wiring system.
The water heater drew electricity from the older 1971 wiring system, which was never required to be RCCB-protected at the time it was installed. If the RCCB had covered the whole flat, the engineer said, it would have detected the earth leakage during the incident, tripped, and cut off the current.
It didn't. The sequence the inquiry reconstructed: the husband was holding a metallic water hose while showering, not wearing shoes. The electrical fault electrocuted him. His wife went into the bathroom to help. She was also electrocuted. Water was still flowing from the showerhead when their son arrived to check on them. Seeing his parents on the floor, he ran to them and collapsed too.
Three deaths. Caused by a setup that, as Mr Chan told CNA, is still common in Singapore homes today.
The four things experts told CNA every home should check
Mr Chan and Mr Wang Gucheng — senior manager of the clean-energy research centre at Temasek Polytechnic's School of Engineering — laid out the safety checks during the CNA interview. Here they are, in plain language, with what to do.
1. Water heaters should be on a heater switch — not a three-pin plug
This is the core issue from Jurong Lakeside, and the one Mr Chan flagged first. A standard three-pin plug is rated for 13 amps maximum. Most instant water heaters actually draw more than that — closer to 14 amps — under load.
“The plug itself supports up to 13 amps. The heater uses, let's say, 14 amps. That means the plug itself will have to work even harder to fulfil that 14 amps, but the limit for that plug is only 13 amps. It gets hot because it works even harder, and that's why the wire burns.”
— Benetton Chan, SparkFlow, to CNA
The correct setup is a dedicated water heater switch — the type with an indicator light that glows when the heater is on. It's connected via permanent wiring direct from the distribution board, not through a removable plug.
What to do: Look at how your water heater is powered. If you see a three-pin plug going into a wall socket or an extension cord — even if it has been working for years — it is wrongly installed.
Mr Chan was direct about this in the article: many homeowners have used water heaters with this setup for more than ten years with no incidents. That doesn't make it safe. It means the failure builds up invisibly until the day it doesn't.
Rewiring is straightforward. Mr Chan's team runs new wiring from the main circuit breaker to the bathroom and fits a proper heater switch — $100 to $200 depending on distance, as he told CNA. That's the price of permanently removing the Lakeside risk from your home.
2. Watch for the warning signs of electrical damage
The buildup doesn't happen overnight. Mr Wang said connection points are the "most common places" that start to heat up first when a water heater runs into issues. By the time the wires fully burn, the warning signs have been there for a while.
Call an electrician — same week if possible — if you notice any of:
- A burnt smell from near the heater, plug, switch or distribution board.
- Black or discoloured switches. As Mr Chan put it: a “telltale sign” that the wires are burnt or about to start burning.
- Anything that feels unexpectedly hot — the heater body, the switch, the plug, even the wall around any of them.
- A tingling sensation when you touch the tap, the shower, or the heater. Stop using it immediately.
3. Buy water heaters with the SG Safety Mark — and a leakage detection function
Both experts told CNA the same thing: any water heater you buy should carry the SG Safety Mark. It's not optional. Heaters without the mark have not been tested against Singapore's electrical safety standards.
Better yet, look for a heater with a built-in leakage detection function. Mr Wang explained:
“Some water heaters have a leakage detection protection function. If you purchase that one, there is a test button that allows you to test that function. Test the protection function regularly.”
— Mr Wang Gucheng, Temasek Polytechnic, to CNA
On lifespan, the experts gave slightly different framings. Mr Wang said a normal water heater lasts 8 to 12 years before it should be professionally checked. Mr Chan was more conservative — most water heaters carry a warranty of about 5 years, and once that expires, “it's better to check already. I think that's the safest way.”
4. Installation must be done by a licensed electrician
Mr Chan has seen people try to install their own water heaters with no electrical work licence — and then call him to fix the result.
“They think it's not working, then they call us. They complain that it is the heater's problem. In fact, it is their installation that is incorrect.”
— Benetton Chan, SparkFlow, to CNA
When hiring an electrician, Mr Wang told CNA that homeowners can ask to see the worker's licence card. It should carry the electrician's photograph, name, identity card number, and licence number. Licensed electricians have been formally trained on safe wiring and carry professional test equipment that can detect risks in the existing setup before installing anything new.
Our entire team operates under our ME05 L1 Electrical Contractor licence with the Energy Market Authority. Every invoice carries the licence number — and we're always happy to show the physical licence card before starting work.
The hidden problem: your RCCB might only cover part of your flat
The Jurong Lakeside tragedy ultimately came down to one preventable gap: the heater was on a circuit the RCCB didn't protect. That's not unique to that one flat. In many older HDB units that went through Main Upgrading, the new RCCB only covers the newer wiring — not the legacy circuits left over from the original 1970s or 80s installation.
Mr Wang's recommendation was clear: make sure there's an RCCB in your distribution box, ask a licensed electrician to teach you how to test it, and test it regularly. Mr Chan added the practical detail of what a working RCCB does:
“If the earth leakage circuit breaker or RCCB is working correctly, it will trip during the test, and all the electricity in the house will immediately shut off. If the electricity does not shut off, something is wrong, and homeowners should call a professional electrician for help.”
— Benetton Chan, SparkFlow, to CNA
What we'd add, from our work in HDB flats: if your flat went through Main Upgrading Programme, it's worth having an electrician verify that every circuit in your DB is RCCB-protected — not just the new ones. The fix, if not, is a partial or full DB upgrade. We do these regularly in older flats and the work typically takes a single day.
What to do if someone gets electrocuted at home
The Lakeside sequence — husband electrocuted, wife went to help, son collapsed when he found them — shows why the response matters as much as prevention.
Both experts told CNA the same thing in different words:
- Cut the power first. Go to the distribution board and switch off the main power supply. As Mr Chan said: “When you're electrocuted, you don't have the time to react.”
- Do not touch the person until you've cut the power. Mr Wang was emphatic: doing so puts you in the same circuit. That's how second and third victims happen in electrocution incidents — exactly what occurred at Lakeside.
- Call 995 for an ambulance, then begin CPR if the person is unresponsive and you've confirmed the power is off.
Two small practical points from Mr Wang that we'd second ourselves: wear slippers when showering (reduces grounding), and stop using the water heater the moment you feel any tingling.
A summary checklist for tonight
Five minutes, no tools needed.
- Look at how your water heater is powered. Three-pin plug + extension cord? Rewiring needed. Dedicated heater switch with indicator light? You're probably set on that front.
- Find your distribution board. Confirm there's an RCCB (or RCD/RCBO) with a TEST button. Press it. Power should cut off across the house.
- Smell-test around the heater + plug. Any burnt smell, even faint, is your cue to stop using it and call.
- Look at switches near the heater. Any discolouration, blackening, or scorching?
- Check the age of your heater. Over the warranty (~5 years) and never inspected? Time for a check.
If you'd like us to check
We offer a flat-rate Water Heater + DB Safety Inspection for Singapore homes. We verify the heater is on a dedicated heater switch (not a plug), test every RCCB, inspect connection points for heat damage, and check whether the older parts of your flat's wiring are properly protected.
For homes that need the three-pin-plug-to-heater-switch rewiring Mr Chan described in the article, that work is in the $100 to $200 range depending on the distance from your DB to the bathroom.
WhatsApp us if you'd like to book a check, or just to ask a question. We'd rather you message us and find out everything's fine than not message us and not know.
Stay safe.
This article was written in direct response to CNA's coverage of the Jurong Lakeside water heater case, in which our director Benetton Chan was interviewed alongside Mr Wang Gucheng of Temasek Polytechnic. SparkFlow Pte Ltd is an HDB-licensed contractor (HB-10-5499Z) and ME05 L1 Licensed Electrical Contractor with the Energy Market Authority.