The former Malayan Railway building, later named the “Wisma Kastam”, on China Street Ghaut, was known for its striking architecture.

The George Town Heritage Action (GTHA) group discovered the building’s damaged interior last Saturday, with its precious Minton tiles hacked by the contractors.

GTHA co-founder Mark Lay said after the city council was alerted, a stop-work order was issued on Tuesday. However, immediate checks showed workers were still hacking walls lined with the Minton tiles.

He said this was part of the “comedy of errors” committed by those in charge of preserving heritage in Penang, including the city council which should be ensuring that heritage properties were not vandalised.

“They are only reacting to stop me from making noise, and the fear of me writing to Unesco. There’s no political will on heritage conservation,” he said.

The Malayan Railway building was built in 1907, and completed in 1909, to serve the Malayan Railway, now KTMB. The building is an example of early 20th-century colonial architecture and features a striking facade with a blend of European and Asian design elements.

The building was left vacant by its former occupant, the customs department, since 2021. It has been marked as a Category I heritage building under the latest George Town World Heritage Site Special Area Plan draft. This means the building cannot be altered in any way.

The building has a large clock tower and a central dome that is surrounded by four smaller domes. It was often referred to as the only railway station in the world without a rail line. Passengers would buy tickets there to catch the railway ferry to Butterworth where they would board the trains.

GTHA said the Minton tiles were from the early 19th century and they were similar to the ones used in the UK Houses of Parliament, United States Capitol and old European train stations. The tiles are considered to be an important part of architectural history, highly sought after by collectors and preservationists.

The group also found a Victorian-era safe that had been hacked and left on the floor while ornamental timber moulding was pried out from walls and lath and plaster walls yanked out. Lath and plaster is a traditional method of constructing interior walls and ceilings, which has now been replaced by drywall.