Attempted Murderer Let Off Cos FTrash

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</TD></TR><TR><TD class=content_subtitle align=left>Sat, Jun 05, 2010
The New Paper </TD></TR><TR><TD height=15>

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</TD></TR><!-- Story With Image End --><TR><TD class=bodytext_10pt colSpan=3><!-- CONTENT : start -->[Above: The contact lens solution that was allegedly contaminated by the maid.]
<TABLE class=bodytext border=0 cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=2 width=506 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD colSpan=4>Maid allegedly put bleach in shampoo, lens solution
Click on thumbnail to view </TD></TR><TR><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD></TR><TR><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD><TD width=120></TD></TR><TR><TD width=120></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>By Ho Lian-yi
SHE was in the shower when she felt her head burning and the pungent smell of chlorine filling her nose.
It turned out someone had poured bleach into her shampoo and conditioner.
The culprit, she later found out, was her former maid, whom she had decided to send back to the agency the day before.
The maid, a 26-year-old Myanmar national, had been with the family for four months.
Her employer, a 45-year-old businesswoman who wanted to be known only as Mrs Tan,was unhappy with the maid's performance.
What she did not expect was that the maid would get back at the family by putting bleach into all the bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the three bathrooms of the family's penthouse unit in a Woodlands condominium.
<TABLE border=0 width=440 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center align=middle halign="center">>> Contact lens</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Contact lens
Mrs Tan lives with her husband, and her two daughters, aged 21 and 18. Her older daughter's boyfriend, Mr Neo, 21, a civil servant, lives with them.
The maid even allegedly poured bleach into Mrs Tan's youngest daughter's contact lens solution.
Luckily, the alert teenager discovered it before she put the lens into her eyes. She sensed something amiss when she smelled the solution.
Mrs Tan said: "What if my daughter had put on the contact lens? She could have gone blind.
"If you look at the maid, you will never think she is capable of this."
When she confronted the maid at the agency the next day, she said the latter admitted what she had done.
But the maid claimed "she did not know the solution was for the eyes".
There has been a recent spate of incidents where maids tried to harm their employers.
While maid agents say it is not common, they have come across cases of maids getting back at their employers over perceived injustices.
Mr Peter Loh, owner of Swift Arrow maid agency, said he has heard of maids venting their frustration by pinching their employers' children when no one else is home.
He has even heard of maids talking about adding urine into the employer's drinks.
"It is a superstitious belief that by doing so the employer will like them. When they talk about this, we will educate them that there's no such thing," he said.
Some 28 per cent of maids had their contracts terminated within three months of starting work, The Straits Times reported last month.
Some maid agents said that maids are under more pressure these days as employers have higher expectations.
Mr Ronnie Toh, owner of maid agency AC Toh Enterprises, said one reason maids do such things is to empower themselves.
"A maid feels she can't fight back, so she gets back at her employer in other subtle ways," he said.
Mr Toh, who has been in the business for 30 years, said that while some maids are no angels, some employers can also be too demanding.

 

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Agents exaggerate
He also blamed some agents for exaggerating the abilities of the maids. "So when the maids cannot perform, the employers are unhappy," he said.
Mrs Tan said during the meeting at the agency, the reasons given by her maid for her behaviour were that she was scolded often and had to wake up at 2am to wash dishes.
Mrs Tan claimed this was not true and that the family had treated the maid well. When she was scolded, it was for valid reasons.
She said the maid once served her husband, a 48-year-old businessman, fish porridge with uncooked fish.
Another time, he ended up eating rice with a 10-cent coin in it.
Once, when Mrs Tan told the maid to clean the kitchen, she splashed pails of water on the walls.
This soaked a power socket, causing a blackout.
And her younger daughter once saw the maid kicking the family dog.
The final straw for Mrs Tan was when the maid allowed two curry puffs to burn in the oven early last month.
"The kitchen was filled with smoke. She was there washing dishes and didn't do anything. So I was angry and scolded her," she said.
The next day, she told the maid that she would be sending her back to the agency.
Two weeks later, on May 21, she sent the maid back to her maid agent.
The next day, the family discovered that the maid had broken the washing machine by cutting one of the wires.
Mrs Tan also found that some of the family's clothes had become discoloured after they were left in a tub of bleach.
And one of their curtains had holes.
Mr Neo had to search for his belt and work pass which were found hidden under a pile of mats.
The maid also stuffed soiled newspapers into the drains in the washrooms and balcony.

 

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Admitted mistakes
The maid's agent, who gave his name only as Thomas, said the maid has admitted to her mistakes.
But he is not clear about the reasons for her actions, other than to make her employer "angry".
"From what we know, the maid was not trying to harm the employer," he said.
"Maybe she was not of sound mind when she did these things. She vented her anger without realising that it could harm the employer.
"She is a very quiet maid. She always keeps to herself."
Mr Tan said he had initially wanted to report the maid to the police, but later decided to send her back to Myanmar.
The maid was sent home on May 25.
"I was very angry but I felt sorry for her. I'd feel bad if she went to jail," he said.
Mr Tan said he will be writing to the Ministry of Manpower to request that the maid does not return to Singapore to work.
[email protected]
This article was first published in The New Paper.