RECENTLY, my bank advised me it had been appointed by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) to collect my outstanding tax. Then, I received copies of letters from Iras, which it had sent to three other banks in Singapore, indicating the same. I was shocked. I called Iras. After many unsuccessful attempts, I spoke to an officer who realised there had been a lapse in communication, and acknowledged I was not at fault.
I was insulted that Iras would write to virtually every local bank in Singapore, yet not make an effort to contact me to clarify the matter first.
As a measure of goodwill, I suggested Iras offer me a tax credit of the same value it intended to charge me as penalty. The assistant manager then called me to explain what had happened. When I asked, ‘Don’t you think you at least owe me an apology?,’ she refused to tender one. I asked for the manager to call me.
The manager who reviewed the matter and found a Giro error, promised to send me a new form. When I received it, I was amazed to see only the standard ‘This is a computer-generated letter...’ form, with no covering letter on my case, and certainly no apology.
What is wrong with this organisation? There is no comprehension of the words ‘customer’, ‘service’, nor, it appears, even simple courtesy, respect and professionalism. I even asked, ‘Have you all been trained never to say sorry, even when you’re wrong?’
To prevent trigger-happy officers imposing penalties and the like without proper checks, I propose a policy that government agencies which levy erroneous charges and penalties should offer the same amount to whoever is wrongly charged. Hopefully, they will check before clicking or allowing computer-generated letters to be sent blindly.
In the private sector and the service industry, when a customer is wronged, companies go out of their way to win him back. For example, some restaurants waive an entire dinner charge when food or service is not up to par.
The following article by Seah Chiang Nee was published in Malaysia news, the Sunday Star Oct 17, 2004.
Note: Dinesh Singh Bhatia's jail term was reduced by judge V K Rajah from 12 to 8 months after he appealed.
*****
Drug war
Enters new dimension
By Seah Chiang Nee. Oct 17, 2004
In US, cocaine's a high society drug associated with Wall Street and Hollywood; Singapore follows.
WHEN narcotics agents arrested 23 members of a drug syndicate last week, it was more than just another bust - it represented a crossing of dimensions.
It was the first report of cocaine, a "high society" drug potentially more dangerous than heroin, having penetrated Singapore's wealthy youths and expatriate community.
Those arrested - 16 Singaporeans, five foreigners and two permanent residents - were not dropouts normally involved with the drug trade.
They were from the high earning upper class, and included brokers, businessmen and executives, an award-winning French chef, a show personality and a TV journalist.
They zoom around town in flashy cars, eat at expensive restaurants and hang out at Boat Quay pubs. One of them, Briton Andrew Vale, a top financial broker who has been here for 10 years, drives a Rolls Royce.
This is the latest chapter of Singapore's battle against drugs, moving from opium in the 40s to heroin to designer drugs, and now cocaine.
The first time I saw someone smoking opium was in the late 40s when as a pre-teen I accompanied my father to his mahjong den on the first floor of a dingy shop near North Bridge Road.
Then as a reporter, I encountered heroin addicts - with pale faces, sniffing noses and a glazed look - in Hong Kong, Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore.
With each raid and execution of traffickers, heroin faded. But others have entered the scene.
Even as a liberal young journalist, I could agree with the reasons why Singapore and Malaysia had laws to hang drug traffickers.
These countries are a stone's throw away from the Golden Triangle, one of the world's biggest heroin producers. If not stopped, the menace can write off hundreds of thousands of urban youths.
Singapore maintains the highest per capita execution rate in the world. Since 1991, more than 400 people have been hanged mostly for drug trafficking.
Tolerance for addiction also declined because of the impact on crime; too many addicts were robbing and stealing to pay for their fixes.
From the 90s, addicts were sent to prison instead of a mandatory "cold turkey" treatment. Cocaine, a powerfully addictive stimulant drug, had long been the plaything of America's rich and famous, from wealthy brokers on Wall Street to Hollywood film stars.
As Singapore became a developed state, its lifestyle began to take after many of the traits of the richer nations in the West, ranging from late marriage and fast divorce to low birth rates and cocaine abuse.
It is the way the pendulum swings. Two reasons explain why Singapore is vulnerable.
The republic aims to become a cosmopolitan city that provides quality and high-tech services. It requires foreign expertise and ideas.
Secondly, the new generation of Singaporeans is Internet-savvy, worldly wise and able to absorb knowledge quickly, a two-way street that includes the good and bad.
When the open policy for the Internet and foreign talent was adopted, some officials had cautioned: "When you open the window to let in the breeze, some flies are bound to come in."
This warning has hit home with the latest arrests of the five foreigners and their local girlfriends. The syndicate supplies cocaine and other drugs to a small closely-knit crowd. Investigators believe they number no more than 30 to 40 consumers.
Of the arrests, the most shocking was that of a former High Court judge's son, Dinesh Singh Bhatia, 34, a private equity investor.
His father is Amarjeet Singh, a former judicial commissioner and also a senior counsel, who served on the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Balkans.
Dinesh's mother is the former Nominated MP and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kanwaljit Soin and a director of the London-based HelpAge International, a global network helping the disadvantaged elderly.
He has been charged with cocaine consumption. If convicted, he can be jailed up to 10 years or fined S$20,000 or both.
Dinesh returned from the UK in 1995 with three degrees - in computer science and electrical engineering and a masters in biomedical engineering.
Briton Andrew Vale last worked for the Singapore branch of Credittrade, a British-based finance firm. He was a broker on its Structured Credit Desk, dealing in credit derivatives and structured financial products, the sort of people Singapore needed.
The other high-profile arrests included:
* The alleged syndicate leader, Marx Oh Wee Chee, 31, a director of events management company Zero Event Concepts.
* Tunisian Guiga Lyes Ben Laroussi, 35, marketing manager at Bobby Rubino's restaurant, is the alleged link-man of the syndicate. Both he and his girlfriend Mariana Abdullah, 24, were charged with trafficking.
* Briton Nigel Bruce Simmonds, 35, bureau chief of Singapore Tatler, a high-society magazine, is charged with possessing drugs.
* Award-winning French chef Francois Fabien Mermilliod, 29, also charged with possessing drugs.
* Vale's girlfriend Penelope Pang Su-yin, daughter of the organiser of the Miss Universe pageant.
* Two TV personalities, rapper Sheikh Haikel and Cheryl Fox, a presenter in Channel News Asia, were also arrested and out on bail, pending urine test results. (Latest: both tested negatively, cleared).
Describing the crowd, a reporter of the New Paper wrote: "They live a lie. These are people on the move - young, urban and upwardly mobile professionals. At night, they drive flashy cars and hit the expensive fancy restaurants.
"This is the illicit cocaine party crowd right here in squeaky clean Singapore."
The Tunisian expatriate and two Singaporeans charged with trafficking could face the gallows if convicted. Caning, too, is on the cards for the guilty.
The websites are abuzz with talk of the arrests. In one chatroom, Sniff Snort says: "Cocaine is nature's way of telling you that you are making too much money."
Adds another: "Only someone with a brain the size of a pea wouldn't know the consequences of doing drugs in Singapore."
INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH BY SEAH CHIANG NEE Saturday June 28, 2008
Not all is right with the Home Affairs Ministry, the frontline body that overlooks security, after a series of glaring blunders.
One of the most hard-pressed leaders in Singapore today is probably Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, who heads the police force.
It is an unusual spot for Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, to be in. In fact, no minister in charge of security in this city has been subjected to the kind of pressure that he is facing now.
There is a reason for it.
Since colonial days, Singapore’s police force has had a global reputation for its no-nonsense efficiency and discipline.
For Wong, the trouble started early this year when terrorist leader Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from the high-detention centre by climbing out through a toilet window.
Government leaders, including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, blamed it on “complacency” at the lower ranks, but not the minister.
Since then, there has been a series of other high profile mistakes, including:
> Two detainees escaping from a court lock-up after beating up a policeman who was bringing water to one of them. Both were subsequently caught. A breach of procedure was blamed;
> In a rare display of indiscipline, Gurkhas attached to the police clashed over a wage dispute two weeks ago, resulting in eight being injured.
They are part of a 2,000-strong Gurkha contingent which plays a crucial role in safeguarding sensitive areas, including the Istana (the president's official residence), embassies, airports and strategic industries;
> A few days ago, another blunder left a hole in Changi Airport’s high-security image. A retiree, who had mistakenly taken his son's passport, was allowed to enter the restricted passenger's area after getting past the check-in counter and the police stationed outside the departure lounge.
At the immigration counter, Ang Heng Soon repeatedly failed to scan his fingerprint at the machine. He was directed to an officer, who – unbelievably – waved him on.
Upon reaching Ho Chi Minh City airport, he headed directly to immigration authorities, who put him on the same plane back to Singapore.
“I am totally appalled and flabbergasted at this slip-up at the airport checkpoint,” said Wong, who promised to take action against the staff responsible.
All these indicate to Singaporeans that not all is right with the no-nonsense Home Affairs Ministry, the frontline body that overlooks security, including the war on terrorism.
The public has called for the minister to be held accountable for his “complacency”, which has been rejected by the Prime Minister. Some wanted him dismissed, while other said his salary should be docked as punishment.
“The Home Minister is losing control of his internal and external security team in Singapore,” writer Koh Poh Chin said. “This is a wake-up call. Our leaders should take a step back and see what has gone wrong.”
A leader who passes the blame to his subordinates when things go wrong cannot serve the country, he added.
People expect security procedures to be tightened, but not everyone is certain that Wong is the right person to inspire a real shake-up. To be fair, the police are facing a new dimension in an ever-expanding island-state.
Since September 11, it has had to meet the threat of a terror war in an overcrowded island whose residential population is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. A million foreigners are now working here.
To be sure the force has increased, but so have the tasks it has to keep Singapore safe. They have also become more demanding, ranging from computer scams to complex white-collar crimes.
Twelve years ago the ratio of police to population was 350 to every 100,000 people. In 2006, it had fallen to 205 to 100,000.
There are also fewer policemen on street beat.
Peter J. Arnold wrote: “I wonder what has happened to our policemen who seem to have become invisible.” He said that a visible police presence was a proven deterrent to crime.
More worrying to the public is that, for some time now, the police have been refusing to take action in assault cases unless there are severe injuries.
The victims are instead told to seek justice at the court.
When design executive Kong Lai Meng landed in hospital after being attacked, she was told by the police to file a magistrate’s complaint at the Subordinate Courts.
“So anyone can just hit someone and not be arrested? I want to see some justice done,” the 35-year-old angrily said.
“What kind of message are the police sending to people such as the individual who assaulted me?” she asked.
Hers is just one of several cases, and it is clearly worrying Singaporeans who look upon the police for protection against public assaults.
Apparently to lessen police workload, the government has passed laws to allow soldiers to conduct civilian security operations. They are deployed to help provide security at major events and will have the power to search, detain and use force against suspicious people.
Despite the recent downturn, the police here remain a credible force.
Research firm Political and Economic Risk Consultancy ranked Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong as the top three of 12 countries on the quality of their police and judicial systems.
It is a reputation that the 38,000-strong force here, following recent developments, will have to fight hard to retain.
There are several simple reasons why many Singaporean employers are reluctant to give their maids a day off.
You see, if the maid runs away, the government will fine the employer $5,000. If the maid commits a crime such as shoplifting, the government will fine the employer $5,000.
If the maid is caught having sex with someone, the government will fine the employer $5,000. If the maid gets pregnant, the government will also fine the employer $5,000.
If you didn’t know any of the above, then either you do not employ a maid, or you didn’t read the small print of the Manpower Ministry’s work permit conditions.
Many employers are afraid that if their maid has a day off and gets into trouble, the employer will not only have to solve the trouble, but also have to fork out $5,000 as a free gift to the government.
Intuitively, this smacks of gross unfairness. The employer gets punished not for something he did, but for something that somebody else (the maid) did.
Furthermore, once the maid leaves the employer’s residence, the employer has no way of monitoring where the maid goes and what she does there.
We may draw a curious parallel with Mas Selamat’s escape, and PM Lee’s determined, if muddled, defence of Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament.
Mas Selamat ran away. But PM Lee said that Wong Kan Seng was not at fault and should not be punished in any way. The reason being that Wong Kan Seng personally did not do anything which allowed Mas Selamat to escape.
Strangely, if your maid runs away, it IS your fault and you SHOULD be punished. Even if you did not personally do; anything to let her run away (apart from giving her a day off).
Similarly, if your maid becomes pregnant, it IS your fault and you SHOULD be punished. Even if you did not personally do anything to make her pregnant.
Oh well. What can I say? Maids are not terrorists. But then you are not Wong Kan Seng. So the rules remain stacked against you. Wong Kan Seng gets off lightly, but you won’t. Even if his lapse has far greater, and graver, implications than yours.
Your runaway maid wouldn’t blow up Changi Airport, would she?
6 comments:
Iras refuses to say sorry for its mistakes
RECENTLY, my bank advised me it had been appointed by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) to collect my outstanding tax. Then, I received copies of letters from Iras, which it had sent to three other banks in Singapore, indicating the same. I was shocked. I called Iras. After many unsuccessful attempts, I spoke to an officer who realised there had been a lapse in communication, and acknowledged I was not at fault.
I was insulted that Iras would write to virtually every local bank in Singapore, yet not make an effort to contact me to clarify the matter first.
As a measure of goodwill, I suggested Iras offer me a tax credit of the same value it intended to charge me as penalty. The assistant manager then called me to explain what had happened. When I asked, ‘Don’t you think you at least owe me an apology?,’ she refused to tender one. I asked for the manager to call me.
The manager who reviewed the matter and found a Giro error, promised to send me a new form. When I received it, I was amazed to see only the standard ‘This is a computer-generated letter...’ form, with no covering letter on my case, and certainly no apology.
What is wrong with this organisation? There is no comprehension of the words ‘customer’, ‘service’, nor, it appears, even simple courtesy, respect and professionalism. I even asked, ‘Have you all been trained never to say sorry, even when you’re wrong?’
To prevent trigger-happy officers imposing penalties and the like without proper checks, I propose a policy that government agencies which levy erroneous charges and penalties should offer the same amount to whoever is wrongly charged. Hopefully, they will check before clicking or allowing computer-generated letters to be sent blindly.
In the private sector and the service industry, when a customer is wronged, companies go out of their way to win him back. For example, some restaurants waive an entire dinner charge when food or service is not up to par.
Cheah Chew Kuan (Mdm)
Singapore is sinking, we need a Justice Bao.
失去天意 - Lost Mandate of Heaven
GuanYu,
"It's not what you know, but who you know." ^_^
The following article by Seah Chiang Nee was published in Malaysia news, the Sunday Star Oct 17, 2004.
Note: Dinesh Singh Bhatia's jail term was reduced by judge V K Rajah from 12 to 8 months after he appealed.
*****
Drug war
Enters new dimension
By Seah Chiang Nee.
Oct 17, 2004
In US, cocaine's a high society drug associated with Wall Street and Hollywood; Singapore follows.
WHEN narcotics agents arrested 23 members of a drug syndicate last week, it was more than just another bust - it represented a crossing of dimensions.
It was the first report of cocaine, a "high society" drug potentially more dangerous than heroin, having penetrated Singapore's wealthy youths and expatriate community.
Those arrested - 16 Singaporeans, five foreigners and two permanent residents - were not dropouts normally involved with the drug trade.
They were from the high earning upper class, and included brokers, businessmen and executives, an award-winning French chef, a show personality and a TV journalist.
They zoom around town in flashy cars, eat at expensive restaurants and hang out at Boat Quay pubs. One of them, Briton Andrew Vale, a top financial broker who has been here for 10 years, drives a Rolls Royce.
This is the latest chapter of Singapore's battle against drugs, moving from opium in the 40s to heroin to designer drugs, and now cocaine.
The first time I saw someone smoking opium was in the late 40s when as a pre-teen I accompanied my father to his mahjong den on the first floor of a dingy shop near North Bridge Road.
Then as a reporter, I encountered heroin addicts - with pale faces, sniffing noses and a glazed look - in Hong Kong, Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore.
With each raid and execution of traffickers, heroin faded. But others have entered the scene.
Even as a liberal young journalist, I could agree with the reasons why Singapore and Malaysia had laws to hang drug traffickers.
These countries are a stone's throw away from the Golden Triangle, one of the world's biggest heroin producers. If not stopped, the menace can write off hundreds of thousands of urban youths.
Singapore maintains the highest per capita execution rate in the world. Since 1991, more than 400 people have been hanged mostly for drug trafficking.
Tolerance for addiction also declined because of the impact on crime; too many addicts were robbing and stealing to pay for their fixes.
From the 90s, addicts were sent to prison instead of a mandatory "cold turkey" treatment.
Cocaine, a powerfully addictive stimulant drug, had long been the plaything of America's rich and famous, from wealthy brokers on Wall Street to Hollywood film stars.
As Singapore became a developed state, its lifestyle began to take after many of the traits of the richer nations in the West, ranging from late marriage and fast divorce to low birth rates and cocaine abuse.
It is the way the pendulum swings. Two reasons explain why Singapore is vulnerable.
The republic aims to become a cosmopolitan city that provides quality and high-tech services. It requires foreign expertise and ideas.
Secondly, the new generation of Singaporeans is Internet-savvy, worldly wise and able to absorb knowledge quickly, a two-way street that includes the good and bad.
When the open policy for the Internet and foreign talent was adopted, some officials had cautioned: "When you open the window to let in the breeze, some flies are bound to come in."
This warning has hit home with the latest arrests of the five foreigners and their local girlfriends. The syndicate supplies cocaine and other drugs to a small closely-knit crowd.
Investigators believe they number no more than 30 to 40 consumers.
Of the arrests, the most shocking was that of a former High Court judge's son, Dinesh Singh Bhatia, 34, a private equity investor.
His father is Amarjeet Singh, a former judicial commissioner and also a senior counsel, who served on the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the Balkans.
Dinesh's mother is the former Nominated MP and orthopaedic surgeon Dr Kanwaljit Soin and a director of the London-based HelpAge International, a global network helping the disadvantaged elderly.
He has been charged with cocaine consumption. If convicted, he can be jailed up to 10 years or fined S$20,000 or both.
Dinesh returned from the UK in 1995 with three degrees - in computer science and electrical engineering and a masters in biomedical engineering.
Briton Andrew Vale last worked for the Singapore branch of Credittrade, a British-based finance firm. He was a broker on its Structured Credit Desk, dealing in credit derivatives and structured financial products, the sort of people Singapore needed.
The other high-profile arrests included:
* The alleged syndicate leader, Marx Oh Wee Chee, 31, a director of events management company Zero Event Concepts.
* Tunisian Guiga Lyes Ben Laroussi, 35, marketing manager at Bobby Rubino's restaurant, is the alleged link-man of the syndicate. Both he and his girlfriend Mariana Abdullah, 24, were charged with trafficking.
* Briton Nigel Bruce Simmonds, 35, bureau chief of Singapore Tatler, a high-society magazine, is charged with possessing drugs.
* Award-winning French chef Francois Fabien Mermilliod, 29, also charged with possessing drugs.
* Vale's girlfriend Penelope Pang Su-yin, daughter of the organiser of the Miss Universe pageant.
* Two TV personalities, rapper Sheikh Haikel and Cheryl Fox, a presenter in Channel News Asia, were also arrested and out on bail, pending urine test results. (Latest: both tested negatively, cleared).
Describing the crowd, a reporter of the New Paper wrote: "They live a lie. These are people on the move - young, urban and upwardly mobile professionals. At night, they drive flashy cars and hit the expensive fancy restaurants.
"This is the illicit cocaine party crowd right here in squeaky clean Singapore."
The Tunisian expatriate and two Singaporeans charged with trafficking could face the gallows if convicted. Caning, too, is on the cards for the guilty.
The websites are abuzz with talk of the arrests. In one chatroom, Sniff Snort says: "Cocaine is nature's way of telling you that you are making too much money."
Adds another: "Only someone with a brain the size of a pea wouldn't know the consequences of doing drugs in Singapore."
No-nonsense status dented
INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH
BY SEAH CHIANG NEE
Saturday June 28, 2008
Not all is right with the Home Affairs Ministry, the frontline body that overlooks security, after a series of glaring blunders.
One of the most hard-pressed leaders in Singapore today is probably Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng, who heads the police force.
It is an unusual spot for Wong, who is also Deputy Prime Minister, to be in. In fact, no minister in charge of security in this city has been subjected to the kind of pressure that he is facing now.
There is a reason for it.
Since colonial days, Singapore’s police force has had a global reputation for its no-nonsense efficiency and discipline.
For Wong, the trouble started early this year when terrorist leader Mas Selamat Kastari escaped from the high-detention centre by climbing out through a toilet window.
Government leaders, including Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, blamed it on “complacency” at the lower ranks, but not the minister.
Since then, there has been a series of other high profile mistakes, including:
> Two detainees escaping from a court lock-up after beating up a policeman who was bringing water to one of them. Both were subsequently caught. A breach of procedure was blamed;
> In a rare display of indiscipline, Gurkhas attached to the police clashed over a wage dispute two weeks ago, resulting in eight being injured.
They are part of a 2,000-strong Gurkha contingent which plays a crucial role in safeguarding sensitive areas, including the Istana (the president's official residence), embassies, airports and strategic industries;
> A few days ago, another blunder left a hole in Changi Airport’s high-security image. A retiree, who had mistakenly taken his son's passport, was allowed to enter the restricted passenger's area after getting past the check-in counter and the police stationed outside the departure lounge.
At the immigration counter, Ang Heng Soon repeatedly failed to scan his fingerprint at the machine. He was directed to an officer, who – unbelievably – waved him on.
Upon reaching Ho Chi Minh City airport, he headed directly to immigration authorities, who put him on the same plane back to Singapore.
“I am totally appalled and flabbergasted at this slip-up at the airport checkpoint,” said Wong, who promised to take action against the staff responsible.
All these indicate to Singaporeans that not all is right with the no-nonsense Home Affairs Ministry, the frontline body that overlooks security, including the war on terrorism.
The public has called for the minister to be held accountable for his “complacency”, which has been rejected by the Prime Minister. Some wanted him dismissed, while other said his salary should be docked as punishment.
“The Home Minister is losing control of his internal and external security team in Singapore,” writer Koh Poh Chin said. “This is a wake-up call. Our leaders should take a step back and see what has gone wrong.”
A leader who passes the blame to his subordinates when things go wrong cannot serve the country, he added.
People expect security procedures to be tightened, but not everyone is certain that Wong is the right person to inspire a real shake-up. To be fair, the police are facing a new dimension in an ever-expanding island-state.
Since September 11, it has had to meet the threat of a terror war in an overcrowded island whose residential population is continuing to grow by leaps and bounds. A million foreigners are now working here.
To be sure the force has increased, but so have the tasks it has to keep Singapore safe. They have also become more demanding, ranging from computer scams to complex white-collar crimes.
Twelve years ago the ratio of police to population was 350 to every 100,000 people. In 2006, it had fallen to 205 to 100,000.
There are also fewer policemen on street beat.
Peter J. Arnold wrote: “I wonder what has happened to our policemen who seem to have become invisible.” He said that a visible police presence was a proven deterrent to crime.
More worrying to the public is that, for some time now, the police have been refusing to take action in assault cases unless there are severe injuries.
The victims are instead told to seek justice at the court.
When design executive Kong Lai Meng landed in hospital after being attacked, she was told by the police to file a magistrate’s complaint at the Subordinate Courts.
“So anyone can just hit someone and not be arrested? I want to see some justice done,” the 35-year-old angrily said.
“What kind of message are the police sending to people such as the individual who assaulted me?” she asked.
Hers is just one of several cases, and it is clearly worrying Singaporeans who look upon the police for protection against public assaults.
Apparently to lessen police workload, the government has passed laws to allow soldiers to conduct civilian security operations. They are deployed to help provide security at major events and will have the power to search, detain and use force against suspicious people.
Despite the recent downturn, the police here remain a credible force.
Research firm Political and Economic Risk Consultancy ranked Singapore, the United States and Hong Kong as the top three of 12 countries on the quality of their police and judicial systems.
It is a reputation that the 38,000-strong force here, following recent developments, will have to fight hard to retain.
Maids are more serious threat than Mas Selamat
There are several simple reasons why many Singaporean employers are reluctant to give their maids a day off.
You see, if the maid runs away, the government will fine the employer $5,000. If the maid commits a crime such as shoplifting, the government will fine the employer $5,000.
If the maid is caught having sex with someone, the government will fine the employer $5,000. If the maid gets pregnant, the government will also fine the employer $5,000.
If you didn’t know any of the above, then either you do not employ a maid, or you didn’t read the small print of the Manpower Ministry’s work permit conditions.
Many employers are afraid that if their maid has a day off and gets into trouble, the employer will not only have to solve the trouble, but also have to fork out $5,000 as a free gift to the government.
Intuitively, this smacks of gross unfairness. The employer gets punished not for something he did, but for something that somebody else (the maid) did.
Furthermore, once the maid leaves the employer’s residence, the employer has no way of monitoring where the maid goes and what she does there.
We may draw a curious parallel with Mas Selamat’s escape, and PM Lee’s determined, if muddled, defence of Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng in Parliament.
Mas Selamat ran away. But PM Lee said that Wong Kan Seng was not at fault and should not be punished in any way. The reason being that Wong Kan Seng personally did not do anything which allowed Mas Selamat to escape.
Strangely, if your maid runs away,
it IS your fault and you SHOULD be punished. Even if you did not personally do; anything to let her run away (apart from giving her a day off).
Similarly, if your maid becomes pregnant, it IS your fault and you SHOULD be punished. Even if you did not personally do anything to make her pregnant.
Oh well. What can I say? Maids are not terrorists. But then you are not Wong Kan Seng. So the rules remain stacked against you. Wong Kan Seng gets off lightly, but you won’t. Even if his lapse has far greater, and graver, implications than yours.
Your runaway maid wouldn’t blow up Changi Airport, would she?
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