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Apr 24, 2010
Given the runaround over runaway maid
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ON THE fifth day of her employment, my Indonesian maid ran off with her boyfriend. I was told that runaway maids were quite common, and that if I was lucky, she would return to the maid agency or her country's embassy.
That evening, my husband and I made a police report at Tampines Neighbourhood Police Centre.
The police assured us they would notify the embassy, hospitals and immigration department, and that the case would be assigned to an investigating officer (IO) from Bedok Police Station, who would contact us.
The next day, no one called me, so I called the IO but he was not in. I finally managed to talk to him after three days.
He told me not to worry and that my maid was now 'wanted', meaning he would be notified if she decided to leave the country.
A month went by with no news.
Then I received a call from the maid agency. It advised me to check with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) if my maid had left the country, because the agency suspected she was now in Malaysia.
The next morning, I visited the ICA with the relevant documents.
After much hassle in which I was directed to several places, I was finally told that the ICA could reveal information on the maid's whereabouts only to the police.
When I got the IO on the phone, I asked him again if the ICA had been notified about my missing maid, and he assured me that the relevant authorities had been informed.
The next day, the maid agency called to say my maid was already in Malaysia and asked me to confirm with the IO.
When I finally got hold of him, he asked if the maid had her passport with her - information that was already recorded in the police report.
When I asked him why he was not notified by the ICA, he said he needed to check.
Five days later, he finally called me and informed me that my maid had left the country the night she ran away.
How serious are the authorities addressing the problem of runaway maids, and do the relevant agencies keep one another informed in timely fashion?
Natasha Sum (Madam)
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Given the runaround over runaway maid
<!-- by line --><!-- end by line -->
<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
ON THE fifth day of her employment, my Indonesian maid ran off with her boyfriend. I was told that runaway maids were quite common, and that if I was lucky, she would return to the maid agency or her country's embassy.
That evening, my husband and I made a police report at Tampines Neighbourhood Police Centre.
The police assured us they would notify the embassy, hospitals and immigration department, and that the case would be assigned to an investigating officer (IO) from Bedok Police Station, who would contact us.
The next day, no one called me, so I called the IO but he was not in. I finally managed to talk to him after three days.
He told me not to worry and that my maid was now 'wanted', meaning he would be notified if she decided to leave the country.
A month went by with no news.
Then I received a call from the maid agency. It advised me to check with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) if my maid had left the country, because the agency suspected she was now in Malaysia.
The next morning, I visited the ICA with the relevant documents.
After much hassle in which I was directed to several places, I was finally told that the ICA could reveal information on the maid's whereabouts only to the police.
When I got the IO on the phone, I asked him again if the ICA had been notified about my missing maid, and he assured me that the relevant authorities had been informed.
The next day, the maid agency called to say my maid was already in Malaysia and asked me to confirm with the IO.
When I finally got hold of him, he asked if the maid had her passport with her - information that was already recorded in the police report.
When I asked him why he was not notified by the ICA, he said he needed to check.
Five days later, he finally called me and informed me that my maid had left the country the night she ran away.
How serious are the authorities addressing the problem of runaway maids, and do the relevant agencies keep one another informed in timely fashion?
Natasha Sum (Madam)
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