Maid in S’pore Scratched Baby’s Face Bloody Because Her Employer’s Grandma Had Scolded Her

2019-04-09 , 6:00 pm

Like most construction workers, domestic helpers have been known to leave their family and travel to our sunny island alone in hopes of making more money to send back home.

They usually originate from countries within Asia i.e. Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar and the Philippines.

There are many reasons why families end their relationship with their helpers – inability to keep up with the high costs, loss of trust, or domestic abuse in this case.

Maid vented her anger on baby

According to Channel NewsAsia, the incident happened on 10 Nov 2018.

After getting scolded by her employer and her mother, the maid decided to get back at them via their children: the employer’s twin children.

She had initially “brushed her fingers forcefully” against her employer’s 14-month-old daughter, making her cry.

However, because she felt that the girl hasn’t made a big enough fuss, she decided to do it again.

This time, against her employer’s son.

Grandmother Alarmed

The maid had scratched the boy’s face and escaped to the room.

Upon hearing her grandson’s cries, the grandmother rushed into the room and found him with a partially-blood-stained face.

Alarmed, she contacted her daughter immediately who checked the CCTV footage.

Caught

Needless to say, the maid was caught on the footage doing the heinous deed.

The employer confronted the maid who vehemently denied the accusation. The family then used the footage from the surveillance camera to report the maid to the police.

She was sentenced to 12 weeks in jail on Monday, 8 Apr 2019.

Not all maids are downright evil

This is not the first time domestic helpers have made headlines for abusing the elderly and young, both of which are incapable of protecting themselves.

On the other hand, there have been reports of maids being mistreated by their employers.

Channel NewsAsia reported in 2017 that 60% of maids in Singapore are being exploited in Singapore. Typically in terms of poor living conditions, excessive working hours, unreasonable salary and violence.

That’s like 6 out of 10 maids.

Back in 2005, local film director Kelvin Tong directed Singapore’s first horror movie, The Maid which revolves around the story of a maid who had spine-chilling visions of what the previous maid went through.

I recall my peers talking about it and of course, I remember that since anything horror makes my stomach twists.

With that said, not all domestic helpers are evil by heart. Like most insects and lizards, chances are they will not get in your way unless you mess with them.

Some have a good heart and want nothing but the best for the family they are attached to.

These are the maids that are bound to leave an impact, and even inspired homegrown director Anthony Chen to produce an award-winning movie, Ilo Ilo.

5 things to note before getting a domestic helper

If you do decide to get a helper in future, do familiarize yourself with these compulsory obligations and tips shortlisted by IOLO first.

It’s compulsory to get maid insurance for your helper
A security bond of S$5,000 to be paid to the Ministry of Manpower before the helper starts working for you
Provide documents of your maid’s medical reports and bills for faster claims under the maid insurance, if they have to be sent home due to medical injuries
Expenses incurred from termination and re-hiring are on you
Injured helpers are to be compensated despite their inability to work