THIS narrow ledge on the balcony of a 10th-floor condominium apartment has no barricade or grille.

Just looking down from it is enough to turn your legs soft.

But Tang Cheong Kim ordered her maid to climb over the parapet to water and rearrange the potted plants - not once but on several occasions.

Maid had to stand within this narrow space when performing her tasks.

For compromising the safety of the foreign domestic worker, Tang was fined $4,000 in a court on Nov 6.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) statement on Thursday said it was alerted to the case following a complaint that the maid was seen working in an unsafe manner on the balcony of the high-rise unit in Signature Park Condominum, along Jalan Jurong Kechil, on several occasions.

Just a week ago, an 18-month-old toddler fell to her death from an eighth-floor unit in the same condominium.

Tang could have been fined up to $5,000 and jailed up to six months, or both, for the offence under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act.

She will also be barred from employing another maid.

MOM's Divisional Director from the Foreign Manpower Management Division, Mr Aw Kum Cheong said: 'Employers have a moral and legal responsibility to protect the safety and welfare of their foreign domestic workers (FDWs).'

'They should ensure that their FDWs work in a safe environment and are not exposed to unnecessary work hazards.'

Since 2006, MOM has prosecuted five employers for compromising the safety of their FDWs. The Ministry will continue to take errant employers to task.

Between 1999 and 2003, more than 100 maids have died in accidents at the workplace, many of them falling to their death from highrise flats while carrying out their tasks.

In the wake of this alarming trend, MOM started cracking down on errant employers who flout the rules set out in the MOM maid-safety guidelines in 2006. The guidelines state that when cleaning windows or hanging out clothes, maids should not:

• stand on chairs or tools 
• climb or lean out on the windows 
• try to retireve the objects which have fallen onto awnings or cantilevered walls

Maids have to undergo well-being orientation courses and are given a list of important contact numbers in case of emergency.

Mr Donovan Long, an administrative assistant at Global Pacific Manpower Cosultancy, said it is compulsory for first-time foreign domestic workers to go for a Safety Awareness Course organised by MOM before they start work.

This is a four-hour training course which provides FDWs with an introduction to working in Singapore households.

It includes basic information on safety in highrise residences, domestic safety, information on FDWs' legal right and obligations.

Foreign domestic workers and members of the public can report unsafe working conditions to MOM by calling this hotline: 1800-339 5505 or email mom_fmmd@mom.gov.sg.