Clothing Stores Are Illegally Loaning Money to FDWs With High Interest Rate

To many of us, Lucky Plaza is yet another mall with cheap thrills and a significant hub for the local Filippino community.

However, to some Filippino domestic workers, Lucky Plaza is a scary place for borrowed money.

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

Many Filipino domestic workers came to Singapore to earn higher wages to support their families back home. However, the amount they make could be too little to resolve massive emergencies.

According to MSIG Insurance, many of the Filippino helpers make only about $570 per month.

When we divide the salaries, not much may be left to help their families back home, especially if they are in a financial rut, such as when family members have a medical issue.

This salary still has to help sustain the domestic helpers living in Singapore, where living costs are so high. Things are not getting any cheaper here, especially with the new GST hike.

For one Filippino domestic helper, she was financially stretched to her limits.

Speaking to The Straits Times, she revealed to the newspaper that she was facing a financial crisis due to her situation at home in mid-2022. She only wanted to be identified as Mary during the interview.

Mary revealed that she wanted to send as much money back home to support her ailing elderly mother and daughter who had just given birth.

Mary’s elderly mother was diagnosed with bone tuberculosis and required a lot of money to support her treatment. Meanwhile, she also wanted to help her daughter to raise her child.

Strapped of cash, she had to turn to illegal sources of moneylending services. Foreign domestic workers (FDWs) are heavily restricted from licensed moneylending due to the Moneylenders (Amendment) Act in 2018.

She could only borrow up to $1,500 from all licensed moneylenders, earning less than $10,000 annually.

Mary was advised by close friends to seek help from a clothing store in Lucky Plaza, which offers sketchy moneylending as a side hustle.

Mary thought she could thank the stars for this help, but she was not so lucky.

A Helping Hand

When Mary went to the clothing store, she was attended to by a woman who called herself Aunty B.

Aunty B advised Mary on the 101 of Fast Cash Tips. According to Aunty B, selling gold jewellery would be a quick way to make money.

Intrigued by the solution, Mary was led to a small cabinet hidden from view under a pile of clothes by Aunty B.

Aunty B told her that she could pawn the jewellery for Mary and provide her with the cash she urgently needed.

Mary accepted Aunty B’s offer to buy the jewellery for $3,300, to be paid in six payments of $600, with a final payment of $300.

After the deal, Mary was handed $2,400 in cash. There would be an additional interest fee of $100 a month and a $5 penalty fee for each day of late payment.

To Mary at that time, it was a sweet offer. However, things started turning sour when she failed to keep up with the monthly payments.

Owe Money, Pay Money 

Aunty B called Mary a liar and accused her of trying to run away without paying up.

She threatened to tell Mary’s employer on countless occasions, scaring her into getting fired and losing her source of income.

When those threats failed, Aunty B turned up at Mary’s employer’s residence and started shouting and demanding payment. Aunty B thought she was in a K-drama.

She also tried to kick down the door and hurled vulgarities at Mary to pay the money owed.

Feeling helpless, Mary turned to Pastor Billy Lee, who called the Police for her.

Similar Woes by Other Domestic Helpers

Mary was not the only one who faced moneylending.

Another domestic helper, identified as Jo, also faced severe harassment from Aunty Jo when she could not pay up. Aunty B had also gone to her employer’s residence and staged a show.

Jo revealed that she knows eight in 10 maids also taking similar loans.

In case those statistics are not alarming enough, Pastor Lee revealed that more than 30 domestic helpers, like Mary herself, had approached him for assistance as similar loansharks harassed them.

He reasoned that many domestic helpers suffer from the moneylending restrictions on foreign domestic workers.

When domestic workers like Mary suffer from crises, Pastor Lee says they tend to get desperate and find illegal avenues to resolve their emergencies at home.

Like vultures circling the hunted prey, illegal moneylenders know about the domestic helpers’ vulnerability and profit from them.

Pastor Lee revealed to The Straits Times that many domestic helpers contemplated suicide when they faced extortion and harassment from the moneylenders.

Not only are the personal issues plaguing her, but the moneylenders are also only contributing to more problems for them.

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What You Can Do for Your Domestic Helper

If your domestic helper is struggling with financial issues, you could advise them on licensed moneylender schemes instead of opting for illegal ones, which could worsen their situation.

You could also advise them to turn to non-profit organisations, such as Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training, who could help provide alternative solutions to their problems.

If loansharks are harassing them, you can help them by reporting to the Police and the Ministry of Manpower about the moneylending incident. The local enforcement authorities are on the lookout for illegal moneylending practices.

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