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While social media often lights up over cases of domestic helpers being mistreated, content creator Sylvia Sia recently shared that she found herself on the other end of the spectrum: facing weeks of harassment and threats after showing compassion to her helper.<\/p>\n
In an Instagram post on November 13, Sylvia recounted how what began as an act of kindness spiralled into a nightmare involving loan sharks, harassment, and police reports.<\/p>\n
Yikes.<\/p>\n
Sylvia has since written to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), who informed her that her now ex-helper will no longer be allowed to work in Singapore.<\/p>\n
According to Sylvia, the ordeal began on October 22, when her helper claimed that her husband had been badly injured in an accident and begged to fly home immediately. She also said her son had been hospitalised with dengue and asked for her salary in advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe said he couldn\u2019t move and was crying very sadly, red eyes and constantly sniffing,\u201d Sylvia wrote.<\/p>\n
Wanting to help, Sylvia agreed to give her the salary in advance, paid for her flight, and expected her to return by October 27.<\/p>\n
She never did.<\/p>\n
The last time Sylvia heard from her was when the helper said she had just landed and was waiting for her bus home. After that, calls and messages went unanswered, and even attempts to reach her Indonesian number failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOut of goodwill, we gave her salary in advance. At that point, we didn\u2019t think too much of it,\u201d Sylvia wrote, admitting in hindsight that she had been \u201ctoo kind and trusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
The situation took a shocking turn when Sylvia\u2019s father-in-law spotted the helper on TikTok, where she had posted a video of herself in a car with her husband and kids, who looked perfectly healthy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe account suddenly disappeared as she realised we had viewed her story and either blocked us or deleted her account,\u201d Sylvia wrote.<\/p>\n
Their agent later confirmed that the helper had run away and advised them to cancel her work permit.<\/p>\n
But things got worse.<\/p>\n
Just days later, on October 26, Sylvia discovered that her ex-helper had taken loans from loan sharks using Sylvia\u2019s home address. Soon after, the family began receiving threatening messages and spam calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s extremely worrying and frightening, especially since we have two young kids at home,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
To make matters worse, Sylvia\u2019s ex-helper had also given her parents\u2019 home address to moneylenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents suddenly received unwanted GrabFood deliveries that asked for cash-on-delivery. My dad had to file a police report as well due to this harassment,\u201d she shared.<\/p>\n
Sylvia said the constant threats have caused immense anxiety for her and her family.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis evil helper has brought so much fear and anxiety upon our family, and even to my parents\u2019 and sisters\u2019 households, who also have young kids,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n
While communication with MOM has brought some relief, Sylvia says she hopes authorities can do more.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope no other employers go through the same painful experience. I also hope that authorities can look into how to better support employers in such situations,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n