The incident took place on Wednesday in Eastpoint Mall at about 7.30pm. It was only resolved when SCDF officers arrived at about 8pm to help the lift technician.
Madam Jasline Poh was among those stuck in the lift in the Simei mall.
The 33-year-old clerk said: "We told the security guards to call the SCDF for help, but they said that there was no need.
"It was almost half an hour later that the doors were opened and only with the help of SCDF officers."
Madam Poh and her two sons, aged six and 11, were trapped in the lift with 10 other people, including five other children.
Also trapped in the lift was Madam Poh's sister-in-law, Madam Sherryn Chian, and her domestic helper.
The 37-year-old mother of three, who works in finance, told The New Paper that she was with her sons, aged three and six, and her seven-year-old daughter, when the lift stalled.
She said: "I was taking two of my children to their math-enrichment class with my sister-in-law and her children. Also in the lift were a couple and a father with two children."
Madam Chian added that the lift suddenly jerked and stopped when it reached the fifth storey, then the lights went out.
She said: "We (the passengers in the lift) immediately pressed the alarm button and a voice came over the intercom, but it was muffled and all we heard was 'wait'.
"After 10 minutes, all of us were sweating because the ventilator had stopped and the children were restless. Some also began complaining that they felt breathless."
Two men then used their hands to prise the doors open and managed to create a small gap.
Madam Chian said: "The lift stopped at the food court on the fifth storey. People were waiting for the lift, and when they saw that the lift had broken down, they began asking us if we were okay."
She added that someone quickly jammed a fire extinguisher between the lift doors to keep them open. After the lift had been stuck for about 20 minutes, two security guards arrived at the scene and a lift technician arrived shortly after.
But when asked to contact SCDF for help, the technician insisted on resolving the matter himself, said Madam Chian and Madam Poh.
Madam Chian said: "The situation was a little chaotic and my youngest son cried when he saw the fire extinguisher.
"Someone eventually called the SCDF and the doors were opened about 20 minutes later."
Madam Poh said that a foodcourt stallholder held an electric fan outside the lift for almost half an hour to blow air into the lift through the narrow gap, while another passed them bottles of water to drink.
Her sons later urinated into the empty bottles.
She added that the children were kept occupied with games on her iPad.
Her children attend classes at the mall once a week, while Madam Chian's children attend classes there thrice a week.
Both mothers told The New Paper that they felt the situation could have been handled better.
Madam Chian said: "There are many enrichment centres on the sixth storey and I have seen older children go to class on their own.
"It would have been terrible if a child or a group of children were stuck in the lift on their own. They may not even be able to reach the alarm button."
In response to queries from TNP, a spokesman for Frasers Centrepoint Malls, which manages Eastpoint Mall, said they had just taken over the management of the mall this month and are in the process of reviewing operational procedures.
He said: "Safety is a top priority and will not be compromised. In this unfortunate incident, we regret that it took a little longer to free the trapped passengers due to the door becoming misaligned when it was forced open."
ORIGINAL SOURCE
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