Employer sends 'lazy' maid back to Indonesia, finds out at airport that she's wanted by S'pore police

Her previous employer had apparently lodged a police report against her.

Joshua Lee | January 10, 2021, 07:05 PM

The employer of a foreign domestic worker got a rude shock after she tried to send her helper back to Indonesia.

Lianhe Wanbao reported the story of one 37-year-old Lee who was frustrated with her helper whom she had engaged in August 2020.

Claimed that helper was 'lazy', slept midway through chores

Lee claimed that her helper was quite lazy. She was flippant with the housework and didn't wash the milk bottles of Lee's three-year-old son properly. It caused her son to vomit at least five times in five months.

Lee decided to send the helper back but when they were at the airport, the helper was apprehended by the police.

Lee then found out that the police had a search warrant for the helper, who is 33 years old, and comes from Indonesia.

Lee said she hired the helper because she looked honest and had experience with cleaning a three-storey house.

The helper's job was to take care of the house and tend to the needs of Lee's three-year-old son. Both Lee and her husband work in the day.

But when Lee checked the CCTV in the house, she found that the helper would often stop her chores midway and head back to sleep. Lee would also often find milk residue in her son's milk bottles, indicating that they were not properly washed.

About one month into the job, Lee's elderly mother already complained about her poor quality of work.

Lee recalled that the helper packed her bags and threatened to "leave anytime" after being scolded by her elderly mother once.

However, the helper was lectured by her agency the next day and she subsequently stopped threatening to leave, Lee said.

Detained at airport customs

Finally, with both sides frustrated, Lee decided to terminate her helper's employment contract and send her back to Indonesia. She booked a January 1 flight for her helper.

However, when the helper reached customs at the airport, she was detained by the police. Lee and her husband were later informed by the police that their helper's previous employer made a police report against her, accusing her of stealing.

Lee was shocked because the maid agency did not mention this about the helper's past.

When LHWB contacted the maid agency, they said that they did not know anything about the police report lodged by the previous employer.

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Top images courtesy of Lianhe Wanbao, via Changi Airport.