She left $1m for maid, with thanks

She left $1m for maid, with thanks

SINGAPORE - A former primary-school principal who died last year bequeathed about $1 million to an Indonesian maid who had worked for her for 13 years.

Madam Khoo Guat Neo, who was 92 and single, had lived in a landed property in Jalan Pelatina, off Upper Thomson Road.

The sum that she left her maid amounts to about one third of her estate.

After she died, the maid - who was not identified - went home to Indonesia, but returned to Singapore late last month to collect the money, reported Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao.

In her will, Madam Khoo also gave about $760,000 to Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital.

Her neighbour, Mr Tan Kwee Lim, 54, a construction-material supplier, presented the cheque on her behalf to the hospital on Saturday, at its 103rd-anniversary celebrations.

Mr Tan told Lianhe Zaobao that Madam Khoo had praised the maid in her will, saying that the maid had taken very good care of her. The Chinese daily also said her hairdresser received $200,000 and the Cat Welfare Society received $100,000 and her 10 cats. The rest went to her doctor and her nephew, whose details were not available.

The Cat Welfare Society's president, Ms Veron Lau, told The Straits Times that it was the biggest donation it has ever received. Lawyer Raymond Lye, who handled Madam Khoo's will, said she had a medical certificate to prove she was mentally sound when making her will.

He said: "As lawyers, we want to ascertain that our clients have thought through and have good reasons to give to someone who is not related."

The Indonesian maid is not the first foreign maid to be made a millionaire by her Singapore employer. In 2010, a Filipino maid inherited $6 million and a Leonie Hill apartment from her employer.

myp@sph.com.sg


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