SINGAPORE: An employer, who had to deal with loansharks threatening her and her family because her helper had borrowed money, took to social media to share her experience.
In an anonymous post to a support group for domestic helpers and employers alike, the employer wrote that her helper had been with her for six years and even took care of her son since birth. “Apparently back in 2019 she already had her first encounter with loansharks. My husband paid off and they didn’t harrass us. She pleaded with my husband to give her a chance. So my husband did not dismiss her and did not inform me as well”, the woman wrote. She added that in November 2023, her maid once again borrowed money from loansharks.
“The husband paid off 2k which covered their so called interest nonsense entirely. However this group was relentless and came back again asking for more or they would burn my house down”, the woman added. After their maid confessed, the couple made a police report and sent the helper back to the Philippines. The woman added that her helper was now permanently barred from re-entering Singapore.
“We continued getting loanshark threats and harrassments for a week. Hence we did not socialize much with anyone in our block, until things quietened down. When we finally opened up, we discovered our helper not only had dealings with loansharks, she even tried to sell her gold pieces to other helpers and even scammed the helpers in my block (a few hundred to even a thousand dollars). She told them it was for some investment. And she also scammed others to do group buys. But all the group buy purchases never arrived. She told them that she herself was scammed. Sadly none of the helpers in my block ever came up to tell me about this until now. I am trying to convince them to make a police report but they all seem shy and afraid of the hassle of a police report”, the woman wrote.
She added that while she did not think the funds could be recovered, she advised other helpers in the group not to have any dealings with illegal moneylenders. /TISG