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Singapore – A Singaporean woman who hired a domestic helper from the Philippines pleaded guilty Thursday (Jan.6) to failing to pay her salary for more than a year. The total amount outstanding was S $ 6,500.
Santa Maria Michele Theresa faced four counts of non-payment by a foreign employee, resulting in a fine of S $ 14,000. Nine other similar charges were reportedly included in his conviction.
Then 56, she was accused last September of having employed Emferatriz Borja Montefolka from 2013 to 2019, but not having paid her salary of S $ 500 for 13 months, from April 2018 to April 2019.
Department of Manpower (MOM) prosecutor Melvyn Low said in a Straits Times report that Theresa knew she was supposed to pay Montefolka her fixed monthly salary on time, but she did not.
MOM’s website makes it clear that employers are required to pay their foreign domestic workers an amount every month no less than what has been reported to the ministry. “You have to pay your FDW a salary every month, no later than seven days after the last day of the salary period,†he said.
Theresa made no restitution to Montefolka. The prosecution requested that there be no compensation as the housekeeper faces charges of illegal employment.
The court heard that a woman called Norliza Kamardin hired Montefolka between August 2018 and April 2019 when she knew Montefolka did not have a valid work card. His case is currently pending.
Meanwhile, Theresa’s defense attorney Barry Delaney said in mitigation her client hired the Filipino to look after Theresa’s father, but after the father’s death Theresa decided that ‘she would no longer use it.
Montefolka was on vacation in the Philippines at the time and Theresa told her not to come back as she was no longer needed. The assistant begged Theresa to take her back. Theresa agreed and sent him a ticket to Singapore.
Mr Delaney said his client Theresa did not consider that she had broken the law at the time.
“It’s a tragic story, but out of kindness. Unlike other exploitation stories, she didn’t abuse (Montefolka),†said Delaney, pleading for a S $ 8,000 fine.
Although the prosecution agreed that there had been no exploitation, Theresa should have known, since she had previously employed housekeepers.
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There was no exploitation but a flagrant violation of the terms of employment for non-payment of a maid’s salary, the judge said, setting the fine at S $ 14,000.
If Theresa does not pay the fine she will be jailed for 40 days, reported The times of the straits. She also faces charges of cheating, for allegedly duping victims into rental scams and making them pay several thousand dollars each. For cheating, she could be jailed for up to 10 years and fined.
The Straits Times reported last September that Norliza could be fined $ 20,000 and jail time of up to a year. His case is pending,
ST reported on Wednesday that the indictments accused Norliza of hiring Montefolka as a housekeeper between August 2018 and April 2019 without a valid work card. According to last September’s ST report, Montefolka could face a fine of up to $ 20,000 and a maximum prison term of two years.
Reacting to the news, members of the online community clearly viewed the Filipino aide as a victim. They wondered if Montefolka would get compensation after the trial.
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“So what about the salary owed to the maid?” »Asked an Internet user.
“She pays the fine in court, and who pays the maid?” In the end, who is the winner who wins here? »Asked another Internet user.
Read related: Internet users: it is ridiculous to pay S $ 600 per month to housekeepers when costs rise
Internet users: it is ridiculous to pay S $ 600 per month to housekeepers when costs rise
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