Ex-principal gives $1m to maid in will

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 at a landed property in Jalan Pelatina, off Upper Thomson Road. The sum amounts to about one-third of her estate. After she died, the maid 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 Tan Kwee Lim, 54, presented the cheque on her behalf to the hospital on Saturday.

He told Lianhe Zaobao Madam Khoo had praised the maid in her will, saying the maid had taken very good care of her. The maid was not identified.

The Chinese daily also said that Madam Khoo's hairdresser got $200,000 and the Cat Welfare Society, $100,000 plus her 10 cats. The rest went to her doctor and nephew. Society president Veron Lau told The Straits Times that it was the biggest donation it had 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. "As lawyers, we want to ascertain that our clients have thought through and have good reasons to give to someone who is not related," he added.

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

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