Employer asks, “Would you send your maid home for borrowing from an overseas moneylender?”

SINGAPORE: A domestic helper employer took to an online forum on Sunday (Feb 25) to ask Singaporeans for advice, writing, “Would you send your maid home for borrowing from an overseas moneylender?”

The employer gave people more context into the story, saying, “My maid borrowed money from an overseas licensed moneylender and the company called me on my mobile phone (she gave them my number without my permission) because she was ignoring their calls for repayment.

When questioned, she denied the loan but later claimed it was her friend who used her name and that her friend had repaid it (she didn’t).

On top of this, we had money going missing from our wallets, but we had no proof to pin it on her (our CCTVs failed us). Given these circumstances, would you send her home immediately without any prior notice?”

Many online users were quick to respond to the post, a handful of whom raised concerns over how the maid’s actions put her employer’s family at risk.

“Definitely,” one answered. “She’s putting your family at risk. Are you willing to risk your family just to ‘claw back the money’ as some are suggesting?”

Others raised concerns about how the maid broke trust. “She’s lied to you multiple times and is bringing trouble to your doorstep,” wrote another.

“Regardless of how good her work is, you can never trust her again with your home and its valuables. Also sending her back is doing her a favour. She never has to pay them back and she can find new employment in another country.”

Another shared having experienced something similar, saying, “Same thing happened to me. Got harassed by phone by the moneylenders, so I went to the police and then dropped her off at the airport the next day.

She won’t be allowed to come back to work in Singapore. Was advised not to pay the moneylenders coz they would only keep asking for more.

(We) set up CCTVs watching the outside and sure enough after two weeks everything just stopped. The crazy thing is she only borrowed one month’s salary from them but it snowballed. She could have just asked me for an advance.”

To this, the post writer responded, saying, “Exactly. She could have asked or at least informed me. How could she go around sharing our personal details without permission? But then again, what do I expect from a technical stranger?”

In another comment, the employer thanked people for sharing advice and said, “I have made the decision to send her home with the help of a runner. Although she had been a great help, it does not negate what she has done.”

Read also: Maid says her employer is “always late to give her salary, and recently she never got her pay for two months”