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Philippines Govt to Singapore Govt: Act against racist blog “Blood Stained Singapore”!

And what do you suppose your maid were doing while you were at work? 2

A not-at-home Indonesian maid? It will be a reality next year!

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WHEN YOU LEAVE HOME FOR WORK OR FOR SHOPPING, SHE IS ALL ALONE AT HOME WITH THE CHILDREN OR YOUR ELDERLY PARENTS.

IN SOME CASES, SHE IS ALL ALONE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK SHE IS DOING ALL THAT TIME?

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Before you scold your maid, be prepared

for the consequences that could result to your children, elderly parent or yourself!

What if she sprayed this into your coffee or milo?

..

MaxnewsUS

IN SINGAPORE, THIS MAID, ANAH DEWI LANHARSIH, 24, WAS REALLY ANGRY THAT THE BOSS’ DAUGHTER, MS NG JIA MIN, 25, HAD SCOLDED HER.

Anah sprayed Baygon Protector Flying Insect Killer insecticide into the soybean milk and bird’s nest containers of Ms Ng.

However, Ms Ng got suspicious when her beverages smelled and tasted funny. After drinking them, she burped repeatedly.

Suspicious, she  sent samples of the drinks to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) for testing. AVA discovered insecticide in the drinks.

The maid got 4 months in prison.

http://maxnews.us/news/maid-jailed-4-months-for-trying-to-poison-employers-daughter

http://therealsingapore.com/content/maid-jailed-4-months-trying-poison-employer%E2%80%99s-daughter

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Recently, a friend’s maid ran away. She found out where the key to the drawer was, opened it, took her passport, and left. She DID NOT take the jewellery from the same drawer. That was great!

But she is gone, which leaves him, his wife and his child without any domestic help.

The Real Singapore

A maid who stole more than $60,000 worth of property from her employer’s household was jailed for 14 months on Monday.

Indonesian Mellysa, 30, who goes by one name, admitted to five charges of theft from her employer and members of the family at a condominium at Draycott Drive between March and May this year.

http://therealsingapore.com/content/indonesian-maid-jailed-stealing-66k-employers-family

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INDONESIAN MAIDS, FILIPINO MAIDS AND ALMOST ALL OTHER MAIDS ENTER INTO A MODERN FORM OF SLAVERY OR INDENTURED LABOR.

They are indentured servants.

A person becomes an indentured servant by borrowing money and then voluntarily agreeing to work off the debt during a specified term.

(http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/284999/indentured-labour)

In the case of a Filipino maid who ‘borrows’ from the agency in the sense of owing the agency fees, the debt is paid off by working for the family who hires her.

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The Real Singapore reports that

IN SINGAPORE, MAIDS ARE COMING DOWN IN PRICE BUT THE FEES PAID BY MAIDS ARE GOING UP!

1. A maid can be hired for as little as $300 a month instead of $1,600.
2. However. a maid will have to pay an agency $4,000 instead of $2,200 to get a job in Singapore.
3. The maid will, therefore, have to work longer to pay off her debt to the employment agency.

http://therealsingapore.com/content/maid-agencies-give-big-discounts-are-passing-costs-maids

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Aljazeera

IN SINGAPORE: GETTING A MAID IS MADE EASIER!

YOU CAN GO SHOPPING FOR A MAID JUST LIKE SHOPPING FOR GROCERIES AT THE SHOPPING MALL!

Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation of Migration Economics (HOME), a migrant workers advocacy group based in Singapore, said that some agencies market their domestic workers like “commodities”.

He adds that racial stereotypes are sometimes used in transactions with patrons. “Some of the stereotypes include Filipinos as ‘smarter’, Indonesians as ‘less bright’ and Burmese as ‘sweet-natured and compliant’.”

Buy a discount maid at Singapore’s malls

In Singapore, maids are put on display and made available for ‘purchase’ in central shopping malls. Michael Malay  Last updated: 27 Jun 2014 08:16

Go to the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, a 1970s mall in central Singapore, and you will find five levels of brightly lit rooms and galleries called “Homekeeper” and “Budget Maid”. Inside these rooms, dozens of women sit in a listless, artificial silence. They nod respectfully as you enter, and some watch closely as you speak to staff. You might take one home with you – for two years, or longer.

The women, domestic workers, come from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. They sit beneath garish signs and posters, testifying to their friendliness and industriousness, or advertising “super promo” rates and “special discounts”.

Some “maid agencies”, as they’re known locally, display women at work. Along one aisle, domestic workers push each other around in wheelchairs, as though they’re taking care of the elderly. In another gallery, a woman cradles a baby doll and pretends to change its diapers. Others stand in mock living rooms ironing the same shirt, or making the same bed – scenes enacted elsewhere in Singapore at malls like Katong Shopping Centre on Mountbatten Road.
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Bukit Timah and other shopping centres like it are the culmination of networks and organisations extending from Singapore to various parts of Southeast Asia: from brokers who recruit women from poor countries, to training centres that prepare women for life abroad, to “runners” who ferry domestic workers from airports to shopping centres, and finally to the employment agencies themselves, of which there are hundreds in Singapore, competing in what is effectively a multimillion dollar industry. Wham says that there are currently 215,000 domestic workers in Singapore.

For most women, according to Wham, the shopping centres are fleeting experiences that last no longer than a week. Before coming to Singapore, most domestic workers have already found their employers after a phone or webcam interview from their home countries. The malls are essentially transition points, and the women are soon sent to their employers after completing a “settling-in programme” and a mandatory heath check.
…

I watched all those things”, recounts Istiana, an Indonesian domestic worker who has recently come to work in Singapore. “Those signs that say ‘cheap price’ and ‘discount maid’. But these are people,” she added. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/06/buy-discount-maid-at-singapore-malls-201462495012940207.html

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WHAT IS PUZZLING AND SCARY IS THAT THE MAID AND THE BOY SEEMED TO BE ‘LOVING’ TO EACH OTHER!

A neighbour said, “I saw that the boy and maid were always loving to each other. Her employers trusted her enough to leave their son with her.”

Star

Saturday June 28, 2014 MYT 7:11:22 AM

‘Loving’ maid’s arson attempt shocks neighbours

by jastin ahmad tarmizi AND farik zolkepli

KUALA LUMPUR: Residents in Desa Park City in Kepong are still reeling in shock after an Indonesian maid allegedly attempted to burn her employer’s house down with a seven-year-old boy in it.

A neighbour, who only wished to be known as Tan, said she never expected the 37-year-old maid to act in such a deranged manner.

“She was always very loving to the boy.

“However, the maid rarely spoke to people and was quick to distance herself from others,” she said.
…
Sentul OCPD Asst Comm R. Munusamy said the boy sustained injuries to his mouth, believed to have been inflicted after he was slapped by the maid shortly before she tried to burn the house down.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/28/Loving-maids-arson-attempt-shocks-neighbours/

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It is believed that the maid set fire to the house!

Friday June 27, 2014 MYT 7:27:28 AM

Maid sets house on fire with boy in it

KUALA LUMPUR: Angry at a seven-year-old boy left under her care, an Indonesian maid attempted to burn the house down, with him in it.

The 37-year-old maid is also alleged to have hit the boy on the head with a blunt object earlier in the house at Desa Park City, Kepong, yesterday morning.

Police said she then set the double-storey house ablaze before making her escape.

The half-conscious boy managed to call for help, and neighbours, alerted the security guards who managed to rescue him.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/27/Maid-sets-house-on-fire-with-boy-in-it/

…

Star

Thursday June 26, 2014 MYT 9:39:05 PM

Cops seeking Indonesian woman to facilitate Desa ParkCity arson investigation

by nadirah h. rodzi

PETALING JAYA: Police are looking for a 37-year-old Indonesian woman to facilitate investigations into an act of arson in Jalan Safa 3, Desa ParkCity, Kepong Thursday.

Asst Comm R. Munusamy said the police received information on a fire at the location at about 10.30am.

“After the fire was put out, the department found that there was treacherous motives behind it.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/26/Crime-fire-Desa-Parkcity/

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（吉隆坡26日訊）女佣疑報復雇主，打傷7歲小主人后，縱火企圖燒死對方！

男童頭部受傷后，滿頭血逃到庭院呼喊遭人打傷，鄰居立即通知住宅區保安員援助，合力抱出男童逃出火場。

有關女佣事后下落不明，警方正追查對方下落，助查此案。

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More Singaporean employers hiring private eyes to trail maids

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Six private investigators interviewed said they all get regular assignments every month to track maids, and the number doubles during the June and December school holidays when families go on holiday and leave their maids home alone or with an elderly parent.

ASIA NEWS NETWORK

More Singaporean employers hiring private eyes to trail maids

Theresa Tan

The Straits Times

Publication Date : 22-06-2014

Administrative assistant Shoba Devi, 27, got suspicious when her Filipino maid of a few months started chatting on the phone late into the night.

Devi, who is single and lives with her father who is in his 60s, said: “I didn’t know if she had a boyfriend and I was worried for our safety if she brought her boyfriend home.”

In February, she hired private investigator James Loh, who runs International Investigators, to keep tabs on her maid during her days off.

He discovered that the maid – in her 20s and married – had a Bangladeshi boyfriend and, on her days off, they would meet to eat, shop and check into a budget hotel.

Devi said: “I kind of expected her to have a boyfriend but I was shocked that she checked into a hotel with her boyfriend. What would happen if she got pregnant? So I sent her home.”

She paid the private eye about S$2,500 (US$2,002)  for three days of monitoring the maid, but felt it was money well spent.

She said: “It’s for our safety as the maid lives with us.”

Like her, some employers are forking out thousands of dollars to check on their maids. Private eyes charge about $1,000 (US$800) for a day of surveillance and say it can cost between S$1,000 (US$800) and S$4,000 (US$3,203) to tail a maid.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/More-Singaporean-employers-hiring-private-eyes-to–61551.html

See more at: http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/more-employers-getting-private-eyes-trail-maids-20140622#sthash.8UPpgF1H.dpuf

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Malaysiakini

6:24PM Jun 22, 2014

Indonesian maids intake still under negotiations

The government is still undergoing negotiations with the Indonesian government on the recruitment of maids frome that country, said Deputy Human Resource Minister Ismail Abdul Mutalib.

Summary of the article:

1. The country needs 3-4 million Indonesia maids due to the great demand for them.

2. Even though 14 countries, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Myanmar and Bangladesh, also supplied such manpower to the country, he said it still could not meet the demands of the sector, which was previously monopolised by Indonesia.

4. The issue of registration processing fee, training, examination and health have to be finalised.

3. The registration processing fee of RM7,800 being proposed before this is said to be still cheap compared to other countries like Singapore, Saudi Arabia and West Asian countries.

4. Employers who recruited maids from agencies that were registered with the government were entitled to get new replacements.

5. Don’t go through illegal agents to avoid incurring high costs besides losses if these maids run away.

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266472

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RACIST HONGKONG COMMERCIAL (Hong Leong Bank)

http://youtu.be/iITY6S7LAXY

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Malaysiakini

6:27PM Jun 19, 2014

Hong Leong redfaced over ‘black face’ ad

Hong Leong Bank Malaysia’s advertisement aired in Hong Kong has irked netizens who have called the commercial racist.

The video, which Malaysiakini sighted circulating on Youtube, depicts a Chinese actor wearing dark orange makeup and a curly wig as he plays a clumsy maid ‘Maria’. The same actor also plays her employer.

According to an Astro Awani report today, the advertisement has caused an outrage in the social media and has been condemned by domestic workers’ rights groups.

The bank reportedly issued a statement saying they “regretted” the commercial and has since withdrawn it, but did not apologise.

“At no time did Hong Leong … intend to offend any person or be to any extent discriminatory on grounds of race, sex or otherwise,” the bank’s spokesperson Norlina Yunus said the report quoting South China Morning Post (SCMP).

http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/266235

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SHOULD YOUR MAID BE ALLOWED TO KEEP HER PASSPORT? If the law says that you must allow your maid to retain her passport, what is your reaction?

This is what Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA) president Alwi Bavutty said, “It would be better if employers are given options. It is not a problem allowing the maids to keep their passports but employers may have a hard time worrying about them. Employers should be granted the alternative of keeping the maids’ passports for safety purposes.”

Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Barda said, “We already have a good number of maids running away, under the current situation where there is no official day off and their passports are held by the employers.

“With the new regulations, the maids will be able to plot schemes to run away, since their passports are no longer held by the employers and they are free to go out once a week.”

http://www.experianmaids.com/?p=241

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This is Paris Hilton putting her maids in their place: way down there on the social ladder!

“@J4CKMULL: Never forget where you came from @KimKardashian pic.twitter.com/ZmYTM5A7Fl” – LMAO maids? Nooo this can’t be true lol.

..

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IN SINGAPORE, WHERE DO MAIDS GO ON THEIR REST DAY?

Shopping malls are a favourite. Sometimes, it is the only place they can go to apart from church.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/08/singapore-domestic-workers-rights

LUCKY PLAZA ON ORCHARD ROAD IS THE TOP DESTINATION.

BBC News – Singapore domestic workers’ day off

I have enjoyed the Filipino food there!

http://www.mb.com.ph/singaporean-wants-separate-bus-for-filipino-maids/comment-page-17/

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MAIDS AREN’T ALWAYS WELCOME AT SHOPPING MALLS!
Some time ago, my second son, wife and I were at Vivo City, Singapore. It was a Sunday. There were no benches to rest on. I asked a shoplot owner and he explained that, it being a Sunday, almost all the benches were taken away to discourage domestic workers (maids) from sitting around all day. “Bad for business,” he explained.

I could see clusters of Filipino women sitting on the floor at corners and open spaces.

www.dpa.com.sg

THEY GO TO PUBLIC PARKS INCLUDING THE BOTANIC GARDENS.

People aren’t property! | The Mohini Myth
themohinimyth.wordpress.com

www.straitstimes.com

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IN SINGAPORE, WHAT DO FILIPINO/INDONESIAN MAIDS WANT APART FROM THEIR PAY?

1. They want rest days (preferably with their friends).
2. They want Internet access.

Many maids own smartphones and spend up to $50 a month out of their own pockets to top up their pre-paid cards. But a recent Straits Times report showed more and more foreign workers rely on online means to keep in touch with friends and family at home. 

Indonesia’s capital Jakarta is also known as “Twitter city”, thanks to the proliferation of mobile phones.

3. They want employers to accommodate them or they will request a change of employers.

Singapore agents and maids – there are more than 214,500 here now compared with fewer than 100,000 three decades ago – say it is time for employers here to change their mindsets.

The Straits Times
Singapolitics

Posted on Mar 18, 2014 8:00 AM Updated: Mar 18, 2014 8:00 AM

Better pay, a day off every week, and even free access to Wi-Fi – the demands of foreign maids today are a far cry from when Singapore first opened its doors to them some three decades ago.

While an impoverished situation in their home country and a strong Singapore dollar remain the main push and pull factors, maids from the Philippines, Indonesia and even Cambodia now also want an enriching time for themselves while working here.

But while their needs are changing, some Singapore employers seem to be stuck in the past. This puts them in conflict with maids asking for better employment terms and more personal freedom.

The result has been more maids terminating standard two-year contracts early and changing employers.

According to figures from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), close to six in 10 maids placed by agencies between February 2011 and February last year stayed with the same employer for less than a year.
…

A law providing rest days for maids came into effect on Jan 1 last year. All maids hired or who have their work permits renewed from that date must receive a day off each week, or pay in lieu.

Maids whom The Straits Times spoke to described how much they looked forward to Sundays, when they can socialise with their friends and take a breather.

They admit that when bosses are not willing to offer them rest days, they prefer to look for a more accommodating employer.
…

Some employers also worry that maids will fall into bad company on their days off and run away, putting them at risk of losing the $5,000 security bond.

But maids say employers do not have to worry about runaways if they are treated well.

Some even express disappointment that their employers do not trust them enough even after working for them for years.

“My employer thinks I will meet bad friends when I go out. But why would I want to find trouble? I am here to work and earn money,” said 32-year-old Indonesian Purwati, who was given a monthly day off only after working for four years.

Another point of contention is Internet access. Some employers see it as a distraction, and will not share their home’s Wi-Fi password with their maids.
…

Given that most maids do not complete their two-year contracts, the reality is that employers have to contend with domestic workers who request for a change of employers.

http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/dealing-new-generation-maids

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IN SINGAPORE, THESE ARE THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINTS ABOUT MAIDS:

1. Bringing their boyfriends home.
2. Stealing.
3. Hitting the children.

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MOM: MAIDS BRINGING THEIR BOYFRIENDS HOME IS THE MOST COMMON COMPLAINT MADE

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the major maid agencies here, the top complaint about maids in Singapore is that they bring their boyfriends home.

The other concerns high on the list include stealing and hitting the employers’ children.

On average, MOM receives up to 200 complaints every month about maids and MOM said that this is generally good seeing as it is only 0.1% of all the maids employed in Singapore. As of December 2013, there were 214,500 maids in Singapore.

Complaints made against maids are usually kept on file and prospective employers will be informed about any past complaint made against the maid that they wish to hire. The exact nature of the complaint is not disclosed.
…

Complaints make it very hard for a maid to be hired again as most prospective employers will choose not to hire a maid who has previously received a complaint.

http://therealsingapore.com/content/mom-maids-bringing-their-boyfriends-home-most-common-complaint-made

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THIS MAID ATE THE KITTEN! She also bit the policeman.

Star

Her employer was quoted as saying that the maid appeared normal the next day and was then untied.

“I took her to buy chicken rice at Ramin Way around 10.30am,” she said.

“After I got the food, she refused to get into the car and created a scene.

“She ran amok. She then got into the car and threw things out. She also bit an ornamental tree,” she said.

When a policeman tried to handcuff the maid, she bit his arm.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/06/08/Possessed-maid-eats-employers-pet-kitten/

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My friend in KL said she had to return home to get something she had forgotten. She found her maid having sex with a man ON HER BED, that is, my friend’s bed!

Got rid of the maid and got rid of the bed!

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JUST BE GLAD THAT THESE DID NOT HAPPEN TO YOU!

*This maid cooked soup with discharge from her soiled sanitary pad! The family found out only after three meals…

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110826-296378.html

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*This posed in her employer’s clothes and posted them online.

http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110717-289546.html

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THIS MAID IN SINGAPORE WAS HAVING INTIMATE MOMENTS WITH A MALE FRIEND.

NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME EITHER…

Maid has void deck ‘date’ — when she’s supposed to be looking after elderly person in wheelchair

Stomper Esther spotted this maid on a void deck rendezvous with a man when she was supposed to be caring for an elderly charge in a wheelchair.

According to the Stomper, the elderly person was made to face away from the two and was ignored for more than an hour

The Stomper wrote:

“This incident happened at the void deck of Block 122 Geylang East Central on May 13, Tuesday, at 1.10pm.

“I believe the helper was supposed to take care of the elderly person who was seated in the wheel chair.

“Apparently, she is seen behaving intimately with a man, ignoring the elderly who was left in the wheel chair for more than an hour.

“The helpless elderly was facing the opposite direction so that he/she would not be able to see what is happening between the helper and the man.

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/singaporeseen/this-urban-jungle/maid-has-void-deck-date-when-shes-supposed-to-be-looking-after-elderly-person-in

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