SANDAKAN, June 12 — A video of patrons and tenants rushing out of a shopping mall here claiming the building was going to collapse went viral today, but it turned out later that cracked tiles in a shoplot caused the frenzy.

The Harbour Mall Sandakan building management, in a statement today, said claims of building collapse were false, but admitted that the ‘loud noise’ heard came from the fourth floor of the mall.

"Yes, indeed there was a loud noise from level 4. It was caused by a small section of floor tiles that popped (cracked) this morning.

"Please be assured that our mall building is in absolute good tenable condition and (there are) no structural issues as claimed by some irresponsible parties,” the statement read.

It went on to urge the public to remain calm and refrain from circulating such false news without verifying its authenticity.

The Sandakan Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) enforcement unit later inspected the building and only found a few cracked tiles in one shoplot. — Bernama