Maid Spiked Soup with Pills

Melissa Koh Huixin
105855Z

Violent maid abuse cases has been rather popular in Singapore such as this one. This didn't surprise me at all. Usually, i would always simply think that this happens because it was mainly the entire maid's fault. However, when i think about it and read this article in detail. I find that maybe such abuse cases wasn't entirely the maid's fault, the employer plays a part too.

In this article, i found out that the writer actually emphasized on the maid being afraid of the employer finding faults on her. I figured that why she had spiked the soup in the first place could be that she was afraid that she would get scolding from her employer. It could also be that the employer might have threatened or warned her that she will be sent home if she doesn't do a good job. I mean, these are my assumptions, but we must never ignore such possibilities. Besides, no one would harm you unless you have caused them to.

I have a maid at home too, but i don't face such abuses before. I realized that it about the relationship that you build with them. Sometimes, we need to put ourselves into their shoes. Having to stay away from home for so long, with no connection until their so-called holidays, i could imagine the stress that they go through. I asked my maid about her life in here and at home, the different regulations that the agency made and whatever i could think of. She told me that they are not allowed to have their cell phones with them once they arrive in Singapore. So i asked her on how she is going to keep in contact with her family members. She has to wait till she gets her salary, buy a phone booth card to make the call. She said that she felt very stress when she came to our house for the very first time. She heard of stories about maids being abused and she was afraid of being one. I decided to just ask her about her personal life and i felt she is a quite a broken person. Her dad passed away early, leaving her to feed her family. Her mum re-married and gave birth to stepsisters. However, when she left for Singapore to work, they took the chance to chase her mum out of the house. Her mum had to use her savings to rent a room. Then a flood happen in her country, her house was damaged once again. My maid has to constantly fear for her mum as she can't do anything. She had to save her salary and grant permission to fly back to re-build the house again for her mum. Imagine having to do the household chores, looking after my sick grandpa (whom is really hard to please) and at the same time, worrying for her mum. The stress level is high and not forgetting that she has to learn how to speak Hokkien in order to communicate with my grandparents with the little education she received. I seriously think that i will break down sooner or later. Not only that, she has to forsake her dating life to come over to Singapore to work! Can you imagine?

Looking at the emotional baggage that they have to carry, i think we need to understand them and build the right relationship with them. In reference to this case, i think she really didn't mean to do it, but it's still a crime in doing so. I hope that maybe, employer could have learned to understand them and know how to build the right relationship with them.

Maid spiked soup with pills

Helena Leong

101678k

After reading the article, I was not surprised to see that nowadays maids are getting bolder in doing things to harm their employer.

In the past few years, there had been cases where the maid would steal jewelry from their employers or even the most terrifying ones would be a maid murdered her employer.

At first, I would sympathies with the employer, thinking it was really unfortunate of her to meet with such employee. However, sometimes the unfortunate one is the maid. This is because, the maid would not resort to such actions to harm her employer if her employer is treating her nicely. Nowadays employers treat their maid as though they are slaves.

Maids, they leave their home country to come to Singapore is solely because they want to provide a better life for their family by earning more here in Singapore rather than in their home country where the standard of living is poor.

However, in this case the maid, Windri’s action is wrong as she tried to poison her employer which is a 79 year old vulnerable old lady. Windri just could not accept the fact that her employer is inspecting and finding fault with her work. When the employer find something wrong, the employee should change it. Perhaps Madam Mah is old and old people nag at times but Madam Mah did not even abuse Windri.

I think that Windri would resort to such action is due to Madam Mah’s nagging even if Madam Mah did nag a lot, Windri should not even poison her employer. She should think before she do something and know the consequences of it.

Maid spiked soup with pills

It is very common to have a maid at every household as there too many thing people need to do at work and no time for their house work or talking care of old parent.

Maid from either Indonesian or Philippine they want to earn money for their family. But as human they also cannot take it when their owner treat them badly with words or physical and they from far away land when they get treated like this they do not know where to file a report they will resorted to treat the old or young bad treatment when the owner is out for work.

My grandparent's maid have serving them for more than 3 year and there no complain about her from my lovely granny as they have very good communication with each other.

So I felt as long as we both have understanding for each other there wound not result to maid spike pills into soup or other case.

Lim Zhi Hao

Maid spiked soup with pills

BM0022: Effective Writing Skill ICA4
Posted by: Tang Wen Xiang (103016C)
10th Post: Maid spiked soup with pills

Given such a hectic lifestyle that parents in Singapore faced nowadays, it is common to see them hiring a maid to help out with the house chores. Even though they have to pay a Foreign Domestic Worker (FDW) levy of$265 at the end of each month to prevent the FDW's work permit from being cancelled, it is not guarantee that the maid they hired is reliable or trustable.

Maid agencies in Singapore have their own exclusive training centre that caters to our foreign domestic workers training in the following aspects. They are the roles and responsibilities towards their employers, relevant skills to do household chores, hands on practice of common household equipments, care of infants and elderly persons, practice of hygiene standards and implementing of safety regulations and avoidance of risk situations.

However, foreign domestic workers are not robots, they have feelings too. Parent as employers should not always find fault with the maid's work, instead employers should understand that maids are humans too and human make mistakes.

On the other hand, foreign domestic workers should always check their behaviour when they work and should not do anything that will hurt the employers, especially when the employers placed trust on them.

In conclusion, both employer and employees should play their part in doing their job well to maximise the benefits for both sides.

URL: http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_557988.html

Maid spiked soup with pills

Quek Zhi Wei, Kathleen.

Nowadays, most households have hired maids to help out in housework, taking care of their new born babies, or caring for the elderly in the household.

As maids come over to Singapore to earn a living for their family, be it in Indonesia, or Philippines. Their only intention is to earn enough money to sustain their family over at their side.

Some maids may have been physically abused before by their previous employer. This results in psychological damage for these maids. Some maids, in order to get back their 'revenge', they will end up physically abusing the baby/elderly in the household, as well as spiking their food. These maids do not deserve to be treated this way, as eventually, they are human as well. They will feel tired, just like everyone else would.

Therefore, maids and their employers should always communicate with one another, by doing so, it allows both parties to open up to one another. Understanding one another better. Both parties should also compromise with one another, to reduce arguments that may turn out nasty.

Some employers do not understand their employees, resulting in many cases of their employees poisoning the employer's baby's food, etc.

Maid spiked soup with pills

A MAID, who laced a soup with 10 sleeping pills so that her employer would fall asleep and not find fault with her work, was jailed a year on Monday.

Windri Hartatik was found guilty by District Judge Lim Wee Ming of administering the stupefying drug to Madam Mah Ah Choo, 79, in December 2009.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Bhajanvir Singh asked the court not to show leniency to the Indonesian because employers and their family members need to be protected from violent maids. He said that Windri had abused the trust placed in her by her employer and had poisoned an elderly and very vulnerable victim.

During the six-day trial that started in April, Madam Mah told the court that while Windri would help herself to the fish and vegetable dishes, she would give the soup a miss on some occasions. The widow, who lived with the maid in a house in Paya Lebar Crescent, had earlier testified how for over a year, she would doze off within minutes of having a meal. She also found it difficult to wake up at her usual time of 6am.

On Dec 9, Madam Mah had taken a pork rib soup prepared by her maid. The retiree did not suspect anything. However, the next morning, she suffered a bout of giddiness and nearly collapsed at a supermarket. She had to be helped by staff and returned home with the maid in a taxi.

After resting, Madam Mah confronted Windri, who admitted to adding 'medicine' to the soup, to make Madam Mah sleep more and stop her from inspecting and finding fault with the maid's work. The widow reported to police on Dec 22.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_557988.html