Residents at a private estate Colchester Grove were shocked to find a foreign domestic worker cleaning up rubbish, debris and leaves at a nearby canal just behind her owner’s property.
The same worker has also been seen carrying a pail of water and a cloth to a nearby park in the estate in an attempt to “polish” the leaves of the trees and bushes in the park.
A resident of the estate, who did not want to be named, said that when asked about what she was doing, the worker said that she was being asked to do these chores because she had finished what she needed to do in her employer’s home. As her employer felt that she did not have enough to do, she was sent out to do extra cleaning.
Residents in the estate have expressed concern about the foreign domestic worker’s safety. It was observed that every time there is rain, the canal’s water level rises swiftly and brings with it strong currents, which could easily sweep a person away.
One resident said that the owner should not even be assigning the maid to work outside of the home as anything outside of the owner’s home was not within the maid’s job scope.
When approached, the worker refused to comment.
The employer however did not deny making his worker clean the canal behind his home as he had wanted to prevent any potential dengue breeding. He explained that the canal in the back of his home was often clogged with fallen branches and leaves, which could become potential mosquito breeding spots.
The employer added that he approached his estate’s conservancy services vendor in the past, but they would only perform cleaning duties in the canal once every month.
He did not deny asking the maid to polish the leaves of a nearby park as he did not see anything wrong with doing so.
Source: www.allsingaporestuff.com