My maids

I have employed 3 maids from 1992 to 2000 respectively, two from Philippines and one from Indonesian. We have 2 years contract with each of them. I got them from the same maid agency. This maid agency has been established for 27 years. If the owner has problems with the maid, they usually return the maid back to the agency for counseling, discipline, retraining, transferring, arrangement to send back home, and provide temperory shelter for maid. I remembered I ever saw the agents discipline the maids by asking them to stand on the stool for hours as punishment. Until some one took the video of the scene and report it to the news, and the story were revealed in the news with the police intervention, then they stop using their methods.

I was lucky to have the first maid turned out to be very good and helpful for me. She graduated from nursing, 28 years old, very sweet lady. I have to work 5 days week, and doing a part time degree course which occupy 2 night and one weekend of my times. I was very busy then. This maid would read from the cook book and prepare the porridge for my girl who turns 3 months old. She will dress her up nicely. I bought the ‘ABC’ poster and stick it to the wall; she would help me to teach the girl. When her contract was due, I have sent my girl to the child care, hence, I thought, I would stop her service.

Since she was nice to us, and she wanted to continue to work in Singapore. I help her up by posting a classified advertisement under transfer maid. When the potential employer called, I let her went for the interview. Eventually, she managed to work with another family in Singapore. Since, she was too shy to ask any things from the new family, end up I have to pay S$300/- for the paper work for maid transfer. On top of that I let her fly home for holiday before she come back to start work with the new family.

In 1996, after my son was born, I invited her back to work for me. She was very much attached to her present family then, and turns down my request, instead she introduced her friend to me but I have turned down.

When I have the 2nd maid, we were running a computer parts retail business, my life was busy, because I have a disorganized husband who will sleep at 4am and woke up at 4pm in the afternoon. He would arrive at the shop at 6pm and started to order people around to work. He would drive everybody crazy. He would make everybody worked till 11pm-12pm. He would buy suppers for every body after work. Then he would stay on for his feast till 3am. He did not trust the maid to stay at home alone with the kids, so he insisted to bring her to the shop, so that she can help out in the shop as well.

It was my set back to have this maid! She was a pretender and hippocras. She has stolen my Malaysian coins without my notice. She lied to me that she has sent my girl to the nearby PAP kindergarden, she actually only brought the five year girl down stair of our flat and asked her to walk to school by herself! She abused my girl and my boy by using the cup as her weapon. She knocked their head from behind when they were off guard. The worst thing was I trusted her than I trusted my girl. She never cooks a decent meal for us, because we were too busy to eat at home. We were eating out most of the time. My boy only ate MacDonald and my girl ate chicken rice with Soya beans. She fed him with ice coca cola, no wonder my son was born healthy and become a sick boy when he was two and a half years old!

After she worked for one year, I noticed that she was getting fatter. She has a big backside. I asked her,” You put on weight? She replied me,” when I become fat, I looked like my father.” When she need to send money home, I let her off for few hours to run her arrant. She would go off at 11pm noon time and returned home around 5.30pm to 6pm. She would put on her lipstick. I thought for humanity, it was alright for her to meet up with her friends, chat a little and relax a little.

One day, she was helping out in the shop as usual. She came to me and said she was sick. I saw her look very pale. I told her to rest for a day, and asked her to go home herself. She offered me to bring my son along. I said, “When you are sick, you can’t even look after yourself, you want to look after him! It is ok, I will look after him myself today.

At night, we were home at almost 2am in the morning, no light was on, and nobody home. Where was she? I was puzzled. When I open the door, I saw a small tiny note on the floor. It was written by the neighborhood police, the note said, “you maid has entered KK hospital, she had a baby girl.” I was shocked. After I have confirmed the ward and bed no of this stupid woman, the first one I called to was my mother in law. I decided to have a good rest and would see into the problem the next day. I can’t undo any things right!

The next day, when I saw her in the hospital, I felt like giving her a slap. In Singapore, the employer has to ensure the maid's well being, we are like their legal guardian. If they ran away from home, or pregnant, we will be fined up to S$5000/- for their mistake. Furthermore, I was expecting my third child, I would be due next month, now, with all these happening, and I would be in big trouble. Who was going to care for my baby, and who was going to care for my sick mother. It upset all my plan and arrangements.

What’s wrong with this woman? Where she got the baby? Who she got it from? When was it happened? How it was happened? How come nobody detected her pregnancy? How was she going to handle it? She said she had a boy friend in Philippines. She had two children at home. How was she going to manage the mess?

Frankly, I was released when I know that this baby is not from my husband! She said the father of the baby girl was working at the same building as our shop. When I went there, the shop was closed; we can’t find any one there. I can’t do any things………bustard!

I called the maid agency to ask them to handle the case. I asked them to provide her and the baby the temperory shelter. And she would be exported to her home town as soon as possible. Again due to humanity, we have to wait till one month later, after the baby was given the first injection before she was fixed to take a plane.

The maid agency told me this was the first case in their entire business life. It never happened before! See, how lucky was I! After one month, the lady boss of the agency let her own maid accompany this woman and her baby home. They afraid the woman would dump the baby and washed her down from the toilet bowl! Before they reached home, this woman decided to give up the baby. The maid who accompany her home arranged to let her own mother to adapt the baby, so that my maid can going home like nothing happen before!

Over my side, I have to write to Ministry of Man Power to explain the happening. I was not allowed to have any maid until the matters clear. I was totally exhausted by the time until I was given permission to get another new maid.

For three months before the new maid was approved, I have to take care of my sick mother, my two young kids, aged five and three respectively, the business and the stupid man as well. I was totally exhausted.

My in laws have helped me for one month after my baby was born. The next two months I was in hell. I was so tired, one day I almost drop my baby on the floor when I carried him.

This third maid was the strong recommendation from the agency; probably they thought she was capable. She was a transfer maid. She complained that her ex employer, the old man like to harass her.

Her duties were looking after my mother who suffered from demanious, my five year old girl and my three year old son. Soon, I noticed that she actually has a Chinese boyfriend from Sarba who worked as a contractor in Singapore. I remember she had a daughter at home, she hate her husband because she had an affair with her best friend.

Well, I did not stop her association with the man. I thought as long as she was able to look after my family, I can tolerate that, after all, she is a human right! They always take my children out with them. I was so busy making the end needs, I have no time to really care for every things. When her contract ended, she chose to go to Batam instead of going back to her home town which was at the remote area in the island. Batam was much closed to Singapore, only about 30 mins away by ferry. She must be moving there, so that her boyfriend can look her up easily.

After I give her all the money which cost about S$5500/- for her 2 years work (she chose not to collect the money monthly, so that she could get it in one lump sum). She left my house. My mother has already past away then. My children and I all decided we are not getting any more maids to our family.

I started to do the house work all by myself. When I doing the rearrangement for my collection of wines, V.O.S.P, X.O, you know what have I found out? All my expensive X.O and wines, as long as those unopened one were all gone! The left over were already opened, used or worthless.

These were my experience with maids. If we got choice, no maid is preferred, really.