A 51-year-old employer is facing a pretty hefty hospital bill after her domestic helper jumped off a flat in Toa Payoh.
The maid, May Thu, who jumped off from the fourth story of a building on 16 Aug, is currently in recovery in the intensive care unit (ICU). She had to go through three rounds of surgery after her jump.
$72K Hospital Bill To Be Paid By Employer
The employer, who is a hawker, spoke to Shin Min Daily News regarding the situation.
“She’s been in the ICU for a week now, and the bill per day is over a thousand dollars. Including her operation fee, her hospital bill is around $72,000,” she said.
The $72,000 bill will continue to increase, as doctors have informed her that further operations would have to be performed on the domestic helper due to the many fractures that she sustained.
I’m sure all of us are wondering the same thing at this point. But, what about insurance?
Well, it turns out that the domestic helper’s insurance can only cover about $15,000 of the total bill, leaving the employer to pay the rest of it on her own.
Such a huge sum of money will definitely be a burden on her bank account, especially considering the fact that most of her earnings come from being a hawker.
An industry that’s being badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
She also claimed that she has to pay $500 a month for her mother’s accommodation in an old folk’s home as well.
Maid Jumped From Fourth Storey Of A Flat
May Thu’s incident occurred at Lorong 1 Toa Payoh last Sunday morning, on 16 August.
The 26-year-old attempted to stab her housemate with a pair of scissors, and the other inhabitants of the flat tried to restrain her.
However, she managed to break free and started running up and down the corridor, before running all the way to the edge of the building and jumping over the fourth storey ledge.
According to the housemate, May Thu had shown worrying signs ever since she first moved into the flat, as per their agency’s arrangements.
“When I first moved in, she was already here. During this period we’d regularly see her crying and laughing. We once heard her say her work permit was about to expire, but due to our language barrier, I wasn’t able to understand further,” she said.
Upset Due to Being Unable To Return Home
May Thu was supposed to return home to Myanmar in April.
However, due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, she was unable to do so and grew depressed.
Her employer tried to explain that it was not in her control but May Thu did not seem to understand the situation.
To provide her with a positive change of environment and uplift her mood, her employer paid $140 for her to spend a week off while resting at the maid agency’s dormitory.
However, it did not seem to have gone so well.
According to the maid agency’s boss, May Thu refused to socialise with anyone else there and she often kept to herself.
Although the boss suggested that she extend her stay so that her situation would improve, May Thu did not respond and later jumped.
The Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) is still conducting investigations, and they are currently unable to comment further on the case.
They urged domestic helpers not to endanger themselves recklessly, and contact the CDE through their 24-hour hotline at 1800-2255-233 if they ever require any assistance.
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