Maid agency clears up doubts on maid who abandoned baby girl

Maid agency clears up doubts on maid who abandoned baby girl

SINAGPORE - The maid who had abandoned her new-born baby girl last Thursday has been blacklisted and is no longer able to work in Singapore again.

It was reported in Chinese evening daily Lianhe Wanbao that a week-old baby girl was found at the lift landing of Block 203 in Serangoon Central on Aug 8. The mother was later revealed to be a 28-year-old maid.

The Indonesian maid's identity was revealed after her employer recognised the wrap that the baby was in.

Many readers were suspicious about the events leading up the incident and posed many questions about the incident after the report was published.

A reporter from the publication contacted the maid agency to better understand the rules and procedures.

According to Miss Huang, 40, a representative from the maid agency, maids are firstly screened if they are pregnant before being hired. That is the fundamental requirement.

"We always emphasise to them about the procedures if they get pregnant. They will be sent back to their countries, but they are still able to come back to Singapore and work," said Miss Huang.

"However," she added, "If they were found out to lying and dishonest about their pregnancy, they will be blacklisted and prohibited from working in Singapore again."

According to Miss Huang, maids will usually get scared and heed to the warning after hearing the word, 'blacklisted'.

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Miss Huang also answered the questions that Lianhe Wanbao posed on their report yesterday.

1. Since she is a transferred maid, how did she evade the mandatory check-up?

Miss Huang replied that maids are required to undergo a health check-up once every six months. It was possible that her pregnancy was undetected as it was not time for her scheduled check-up yet.

2. When the maid changed employer, she was already pregnant for four months. Why was the maid agency unaware of her pregnancy?

From what Miss Huang understands, there are still ways to avoid detection when the agency brings the maid to the clinic for a check-up. The maid could have swopped her urine with another maid to hide the truth.

3. How did the maid manage to deliver and hide the baby before she abandoned it?

The maid's employer, Mr Gao, said that the maid slept in the store room and kept the door closed at night.

A check by the Lianhe Wanbao reporter revealed that while the storeroom was close to the kitchen, it was located a distance away from the bedrooms. The store room was also soundproof, thus ensuring that the secret was kept hidden from Mr Gao and his family for a week.

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wjeanne@sph.com.sg

grongloh@sph.com.sg

 

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