A family allegedly made their helper sit outside the Din Tai Fung Marina Bay Sands (MBS) while they dined inside. One netizen, J, who saw the helper sitting outside Din Tai Fung MBS, wrote about the incident on social media.
“While waiting, [I] noticed this petite lady who sat down on the floor and figured she’s probably in the queue as well”, posted J on her Instagram stories.
J patronised the same restaurant, but since the queue was very long, she took a queue number and left to walk around the mall.
After walking around the mall, J came back to Din Tai Fung MBS as they were about to call her queue number. She said that she saw the same petite lady outside the restaurant.
“Shortly after, a female patron walked out of the restaurant and asked for her some items from her backpack. And this said patron scolded her harshly in front of everyone,” wrote J, adding that she was not able to hear the exact exchange that took place between the pair.
J wrote that it then dawned on her that the petite lady was a domestic helper, with the female patron her employer. The helper was not queuing for a seat, she wrote, she was waiting for her employer and family to finish their meal at Din Tai Fung MBS.
J went to check on the helper, who confirmed that she had not eaten and was waiting for her “boss” to finish dinner before she could eat. J and her friend offered her money, which she declined.
They also bought buns from a bakery nearby and gave them to her, which she placed in her backpack. “She was so afraid to eat, in case her employer were to scold her. And then she started tearing [up] and thanking us profusely”.
The domestic helper shared with J that she was from Indonesia and had only been in Singapore for two months. She was a young mother and left two children – a two-year-old and a three-year-old – back home.
The helper explained that her employer and family were having a staycation at Marina Bay Sands and since there were five of them in total, they had chosen to leave her outside the restaurant.
J wrote that she was “super flabbergasted” and added that she and her friend could possibly have done more, but that they did not want to confront the helper’s employer lest they take it out on the maid back home.
“I just wish people could treat others with respect and kindness,” J wrote.
The post is no longer up on J’s Instagram account, and TISG has attempted to reach out to her for comment and clarification. /TISG