What Is Wrong with Singapore?

ShutterBug SG

I read the following article in the Electronic New Paper, and I wonder what the f-u-c-k, is wrong with people in Singapore???

I suggest the authorities take strong and stringent views/actions towards the issue of Maid Abuse in Singapore, as it is giving us all, a VERY bad reputation. Especially when we are considering ourselves as a "developed" country.

I feel SHAMEFUL! These sort of maid agencies should be shut down, and employers who abuse their maids physically, should be made liable to be given 6 strokes of the cane along with a 2 years prison term!!!

I am strongly, against inhumane acts!!!!

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THE woman refused to let go of Madam Barbara Peters' hands.

--Pics/KUA CHEE SIONG and DOMINIC YING
Miss Wilma, 23, a Filipina, told her that she had been abused by her maid agent.

They had just alighted from a bus which Miss Wilma had jumped into to ask for help.

Madam Peters (below), 53, said: 'She kept holding on to my hand. I asked her to sit down at the bus stop but she didn't want to.

'She said she was afraid the agency people would see her... We went to some place behind the building where I called the police.'

Miss Wilma had dashed barefoot onto the bus at a bus stop in the East Coast on Tuesday.

She started asking the passengers to help her.

Then as the bus passed a maid agency, she ducked.

Said Madam Peters, a childcare teacher: 'She was barefoot, her T-shirt was torn and she looked liked a lost child.'

The bus driver told Madam Peters that the woman wanted to go to the police station.

Then she begged Madam Peters: 'Ma'am, can you please help me? Can you take me to the police station?'

That's when Madam Peters agreed and asked Miss Wilma to get off the bus with her.

Miss Wilma claimed that just one day after she arrived in Singapore to work as a domestic maid, she was slapped across her face - twice.

She alleged that her abuser was one of the bosses from the maid agency which had brought her to Singapore.

Speaking to The New Paper from Changi General Hospital, Miss Wilma said that she arrived in Singapore less than two weeks ago, on 24 May, from her hometown, Roxas City, in the Philippines.

Soon after, Miss Wilma claimed, her recruiter in the Philippines had called the agency and asked to speak to her.

SCOLDED

With shoulders hunched, the small-framed, soft-spoken maid said: '(The recruiter) just wanted to ask me if I was all right. The (agency's woman boss) took the phone and threw it at me. It hit me on my forehead.

'She scolded me and said the phone was for business only, nobody can use the phone.'

The next day, Miss Wilma claimed, she was slapped across the face, once on each cheek.

'I don't know why she slapped me, I don't know what I did... She was very angry, she's always angry.'

Taken by surprise, Miss Wilma said she just sat quietly in a corner.

She claimed that one night she had gone to the boss' house for training but had menstrual cramps.

When she informed the woman, she alleged she was verbally abused and threatened.

She alleged that she was later told to sleep on the floor next to the washing machine, with only a pillow and blanket.

Several days later, Miss Wilma was placed with a family. She said her employers were 'very nice'.

However, after two days, they sent her back to the agency for more training.

She claimed she was sent back because she could not cook.

Back at the agency, the verbal abuse and threats continued.

She said: '(The woman boss) pulled my T-shirt and dragged me into the storeroom and then she pushed me against the wall.

'She pulled me outside again (by the collar) and told me to sit down, cannot move.'

Miss Wilma showed us a few scratches on her chest, which she said was a result of this incident.

She said she was not given any dinner that night, nor was she given breakfast or lunch the following day.

What she was given, however, was a brown drink and four painkillers for her stomach cramps and backache.

She also claimed she was told to drink the same brown concoction and take six painkillers the next morning.

Miss Wilma said that after being threatened with harm, she was so fearful she just did as she was told.

WANTS TO GO HOME

That same morning, when she saw the two bosses leave the agency, she said she decided to run away.

She said: 'I want to go home. I'm very scared, I want to go back.'

Throughout most of our conversation, she sought comfort from her aunt who visited her in the hospital. Her aunt works here.

She had her arm on her aunt's lap, often looking at her for assurance.

Before coming to Singapore, Miss Wilma used to work as a salesgirl in her hometown and in Manila.

Like many other domestic workers here, she had come to Singapore so that she could support her two younger sisters who are in college in the Philippines, and her mother, a farmer.

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Police confirm maid taken to hospital

THE police confirmed they received a phone call from a member of the public who said a maid needed help.

Police spokesman ASP Victor Keong said the maid was taken to a hospital for medical examination, and they are investigating her allegations.

When The New Paper called the agency on Wednesday and asked if a maid had run away, the director of the company said 'there was nothing of that sort' and hung up.

We called again about half an hour later and got a woman, who put us through to her 'boss'.

This time, asked about the runaway maid, he claimed 'we already brought her back'.

HUNG UP AGAIN

The New Paper had visited Miss Wilma just hours earlier, and she had said the agency did not know where she was nor had they tried to contact her.

So, we asked where he had brought her back from. He refused to say, and hung up - again. A third try yesterday received the same response from the director.

A check showed the agency started operations about two years ago and is accredited by the Association of Employment Agencies Singapore (Aeas).

When contacted, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the agency has not lodged any report with the ministry about a runaway foreign domestic worker.

A spokesman said: 'MOM takes a serious view of any offence against foreign domestic workers.

'Once reported, the police and MOM will conduct thorough investigations into all complaints of abuse.'

Under the Employment Agencies' Act, the Commissioner for Labour can revoke the licence of an employment agency if the agency is found to have acted in a manner likely to be detrimental to the interest of the agency's clients or maids.

Maids who are abused can contact MOM at 6339-5505.

kaka_22 SG

your ques = What Is Wrong with Singapore?

my ans = Everything!!

Agressor SG

Singaporeans are wrong in thinking that employing foriegn domestic maids lightens their days.

I prefer to rely on tecnology such as washing machines, dryers, dishwasher etc. At least they will not complain or run away when abused, and best of all they come with extended warranty. Laughing

drawer SG

Actually when a dispute occur,both parties have to bear the responsibility,not only employer,but also the maid.Afterall,even if the maids are dissatisfied with their employers,the maids also cannot go around n killing them n claim that their employer have abuse them right.

ShutterBug SG

Let me see.

Ok, I believe it's nature; dogs DO NOT bite unless you hurt it. As do all other animals warm or cold blooded, they only bite when offended.

So this goes to show that, humans too, don't bite if not provoked. But in this instance, we're talking KILLING as a reaction. Well, humans being humans, aren't all created equal. Hence some may lack the foresight to think that KILLING, is one royal mistake.

For someone, a maid, to kill her employer - I think the stress of abuse must have erased all sensibilities from her. Being that maids are from 3rd world countries, chances are they can't think very well given a situation like that. They are often desperately in need of money, and have already struggled much of their life. Put under seemingly endless nightmarish circumstances, they WILL snap.

FURY, has no logic. Remember this fact.

ShutterBug SG

From all the news that I've read about maid abuse, and from what I often see daily in residential estates, I believe the affluent lifestyles of Singaporeans have turned their hearts cold.

>> Employers forget that maids are humans - not buffalo, dog, mule or horse

>> Employers forget that maids aren't very intelligent, and they require constant training and retraining, and they may have a longer learning time-line

>> Employers who themselves are abused at work, forget they cannot take it out on their maids when they get home

>> Employers very often forget, that they cannot physically strike a maid when the maid performs poorly or makes frequent mistakes

I ask those who hit their maids, and who are not yet reported to the Police by their maid/s; HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOUR BOSS AT THE OFFICE HITS YOU FOR MISTAKES YOU MAKE?

People of Singapore; where is your sense of compassion for another human being???

Has money filled your hearts and not blood???

SpiderKim SG

every one in the family has their part to play in doing housework.. no matter how busy they are..

what are maids in the first place? humans m i right?

y do ppl even want to employ one in the first place?? simple.. to show off their wealth..

then maid is employed.. either ppl abuse them.. or they will claim saying that maids are closer to their children or their maid become the husband's 2nd wife etc..

with more and more singaporeans getting richer and richer due to the standards of living getting higher n higher.. this will happen.. y? cos one's true personality majority of the time will show when he/she is rich..

and how many rich ppl out there even gone thru hard time to get their wealth?? they think their wealth comes for free.. they can throw their wealth onto others' face without even thinking the pride of others..

this is modern singapore.. where most rich singaporeans who thinks that they are rich and can insult other's pride..

LazerLordz SG

Those with riches and heritage in their families are the low-profile ones and they are very nice chaps, not like the growing number of pseudo rich and noveau riche that is staining the sidewalk with their boorish arrogance.

Old money and humility comes together, I know of a Ferrari owner who goes car meets in just an old t-shirt and sandals.That's simplicity.

SilverPal SG

LazerLord, I agree with you totally! What most singaporeans dun realise is that, there is a difference between the rich and the "act" rich.

I have met many rich people, they are really nice people! They are not snobby, helpful, and really just normal people like you and I!!! In fact, if they go to your place for a meal, they would help you clear the table and maybe even offer to help wash the dishes! The act rich would criticise everything in your house.

There are of course more interesting differences between the two that you can see but I'll not disclose it!

FireIce SG

nothing is wrong with singapore
oni some ppl something wrong.......

LazerLordz SG

There might be a correleation between wealth and manners.And wealth is about prudent consumption and saving/investment etc rather than living it large and ostentatiously.

suntze SG

The problem of maid abuse is not unique to Spore, it also happens in the US; see following link.

http://www.commondreams.org/cgi-bin/print.cgi?file=/headlines01/1119-04.htm

But I agree these cases are giving Spore a bad name. The govt, specifically MOM, should really do something to correct the situation.

For eg, the govt could introduce minimum wage for maids and compulsory day off per week. In addition, the employer should be required to send the maid for regular medical checkup with a local doctor who will issue a certificate to be copied to MOM.

We need appropriate measures to prevent more tragic cases from happening.

suntze SG

IIRC, maids are now required to undergo 6 monthly medical checkups which may be sufficient in regularity.

What may be appropriate is to introduce a requirement for the MD to examine the maid for physical abuse and to certify accordingly.

elindra SG

Actually, there are also cases whereby the employer does not ill-treat the maid and the maid falsified a report of abuse.

There have been a few such cases in the papers before. Also, sometimes the employer does not abuse the maid, but due to the vast difference in environment, lonliness and desperation, can cause a person to do drastic things without abuse. It really depend on how the individual copes with stress so I wouldn't say it is the employers mistake all the time.

Just the flip side of the coin.

Y-not SG

I agree. I've met some "act" rich ones who thinks money can buy class.

Problem with one is she abuses her maid. Insufficient food, slapping her, even hits her butt. Maid is not = slave. Very disgusting behaviour.

Finally she is on her way out but I pity the next one.

miss_soojung SG

Yes, there are many employers in Singapore who treat their maids like family members and their maids 'own' the kitchen. The maids in these families get birthday gifts, angpows during CNY, gifts for Christmas, much like everyone else in the homes they work for.

I understand, too, that it is not uncommon or difficult for maids from Indonesia to acquire documentation falsifying their age. A family I know of once found themselves with a maid who was actually a mere 15 although her identification papers showed she was in her early twenties. They sent her back to the agency because the girl exhibited behaviour that indicated she was not mature enough to handle her duties, even for a small family without young children.

SolarSnow SG

Dun tink we are specially bad but certainly we should improve. In every society, there'll be the black sheep, both among employers as well as maids. Dun see how minimum wage will improve problem. May make agent, or employers, expect and demand more of high-priced maids. Tink we should have more strict laws to punish those abusing their privileges.

suntze SG

Dun see how minimum wage will improve problem. May make agent, or employers, expect and demand more of high-priced maids. Tink we should have more strict laws to punish those abusing their privileges.

Hi Solarsnow, welcome to the forum!!

In Spore a maid is paid around $280 pm; plus the levy of $345, the cost pm to employer is $625 which is not far from that in HK. Hong Kong has a minimum wage of HK 3670 which is roughly about S$700.

However, Hong Kong plans to cut the minimum salary of foreign domestic helpers by 400 HK dollars and impose a levy of the same amount, ie 400 HK dollars for vocational training.

Training for domestic maids in Spore is minimal and is left to the maid agencies. More often than not, so-called maid training is just another form of abuse.

Imo, part of the levy should go towards supporting a level of minimum wage and part of it should go towards proper maid training. A minimum wage policy will help to correct the impression that Sporeans (in fact it's the Spore govt) are exploiting maids coming from poor neighbouring countries. Employers in Spore are paying good money but they could be getting better value.

As far as punishment is concerned, I believe there is sufficient deterrent measures. What is missing is appropriate preventive measures. It's better to prevent abuse from occurring in the first place than to punish after the criminal acts have been committed. There'd be less tears all 'round at the end of the day.

organization SG

let me digress from here,
What Is Wrong with Singapore?
it doesn't seem to know its future.. Wink

Harris_JeyaRaj SG

Sad but very true, utlimately the path they take will lead them to their destiny.....