‘I don’t want to eat anymore because my boss is so calculative’ — Maid says her employer wants to know each item she eats every day

SINGAPORE: If your boss is more interested in your tomato intake than your well-being, we’ve got a huge and serious problem. And for one domestic helper in Singapore, that problem is hitting her where it hurts most — her appetite.

In a post on the Direct Hire Transfer Singapore Maid / Domestic Helper Facebook group, the distressed maid shared her emotional plea: “I don’t want to eat anymore because my boss is so calculative. Even for a tomato or what, she wants to know how many pieces I use or eat every day. But she knows how many pieces I buy, and she knows how many pieces I use/eat every day.”

Yes, she’s living in a house where tomatoes might as well be counted like gold bars. The helper also added that her employer constantly questions why food items “finish so fast,” while keeping meticulous track of every fruit, vegetable, and (presumably) grain of rice.

In response, netizens flooded the comments with support — and some serious shade for overly stingy employers:

“Just change employer lah,” one commenter advised, while another shared: “My madam before is the same, madamot (Tagalog for stingy).”

Others shared similar war stories: “My employer is also like that… After 2 weeks, I decided not to touch her food anymore, and I bought all my food… Better I don’t touch anything that belongs to my employer, it’s so scary for me.”

And it’s not just the horror of being questioned over tofu portions. The emotional toll is real:

“If you want to stop eating or do not wish to eat, this will pose a serious health risk to you,” warned a more concerned commenter, who also urged the maid to consider reporting the matter to Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Singapore’s rules are clear: Employers must provide adequate food for their helpers. And “adequate” doesn’t mean rationed tomatoes that come with a side-eye over finishing a loaf of bread.

Still, not everyone was ready to go full cancel-employer. One netizen offered a more diplomatic view:

“With all due respect, you should also think from your employer’s perspective… Maybe she wants to keep track for budgeting. She could do it in a better way, but it may not mean harm.”

Others advised: Ask the employer to portion out your meals if they’re that fussy, or better yet, transfer out. Your mental and physical health isn’t worth trading for an audited apple.

“Singapore will not get poor just to give good food for your helper,” a long-time foreign domestic worker remarked. “People here should learn from other countries not to be poor in heart.”

So if you’re counting calories because your employer is counting your curry puffs, it might also be time to count yourself out of that household.

In other news, from counting tomatoes to serving bones, it seems some employers are running some kind of secret mystery kitchens. Read the next course of this drama when a Maid says, ‘My employer feeds me with only chicken drumstick bones daily and tells me it’s up to me what I want to do with it’