{"id":91851,"date":"2026-10-10T17:55:04","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T09:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=91851"},"modified":"2026-10-10T17:55:04","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T09:55:04","slug":"mom-probes-helpers-fall-during-window-cleaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=91851","title":{"rendered":"MOM probes helper&#8217;s fall during window cleaning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"text-primary article-summary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">SINGAPORE \u2013 The <!-- -->Ministry of Manpower (MOM)<!-- --> is investigating an incident involving a <!-- -->migrant domestic worker<!-- --> who fell from height on <!-- -->Oct 8<!-- --> while window cleaning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In response to queries from The Straits Times, the <!-- -->Singapore Civil Defence Force<!-- --> said it received a call for assistance at B<!-- -->lock 121A Rivervale Drive<!-- --> on Oct 8 at around<!-- --> 10.30am.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">One person was taken to <!-- -->Khoo Teck Puat Hospita<!-- -->l.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In a video circulating online, a woman, who is alive and breathing, is seen lying at the foot of a building with what appears to be a squeegee nearby on the ground. She is being attended by <!-- -->three SCDF personnel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Another photo of the incident shows her on a stretcher.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In its statement, MOM reminded all employers that they are responsible for ensuring the safety of their foreign domestic helpers at all times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The ministry said employers must guide their foreign domestic helpers to follow safe practices when performing tasks such as window cleaning. This includes checking that window grilles are properly installed and locked throughout the cleaning process, it added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">It said all first-time employers and first-time foreign domestic helpers are educated on essential safety measures during the <!-- -->Employers\u2019 Orientation Programme<!-- --> and <!-- -->Settling-In Programme<!-- --> respectively. These programmes cover essential safety practices, including window cleaning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Under the<!-- --> Employment of Foreign Manpower Act<!-- -->, employers of foreign domestic helpers are required to\u202fprovide safe working conditions, and those who breach these requirements can be<!-- --> fined up to $10,000 and\/or imprisoned for up to 12 months.<!-- --> They may also be barred from employing a domestic helper, said MOM.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Under existing regulations, employers are not allowed to let their foreign domestic helpers clean the exterior of windows unless strict safety conditions are met.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">An employer or adult representative must be present to supervise the domestic worker, and window grilles must be installed and locked at all times during the cleaning.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">The rule came about following the deaths of five domestic workers between<!-- --> January and June in 2012<!-- -->. They had fallen while cleaning windows in an unsafe manner.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">Between<!-- --> 2015 and 2024<!-- -->, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/politics\/some-15-employers-caught-annually-breaching-safety-standards-for-maids-cleaning-windows-mom?ref=inline-article\" rel=\"noopener\" class=\"gap-x-04 items-center inline text-primary-60 select-auto\" aria-label=\"link\" target=\"_blank\" data-testid=\"custom-link\"><span class=\"inline font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"typography-test-id\">an average of 15 employers each year<\/span><\/a> faced enforcement actions for failing to comply with safety standards regarding window cleaning by their migrant domestic workers<!-- -->.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In <!-- -->2025<!-- -->, a 3<!-- -->9-year-old domestic worker<!-- --> died after she was believed to have fallen from a height while cleaning windows.<\/p>\n<p class=\"text-primary font-tertiary-body-baseline-regular\" data-testid=\"article-paragraph-annotation-test-id\">In <!-- -->2021<!-- -->, a<!-- --> 26-year-old Indonesian maid,<!-- --> who is also also believed to have fallen while cleaning windows, died in hospital after she was found at the bottom of a block of flats near <!-- -->Hougang MRT station.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<center><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.straitstimes.com\/singapore\/mom-investigating-after-helper-falls-from-height-while-window-cleaning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><br \/>\n<center\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SINGAPORE \u2013 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is investigating an incident involving a migrant domestic worker who fell from height on Oct 8 while window&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":91852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2611],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buzz-headlines","wpcat-2611-id"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=91851"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91851\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/91852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=91851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=91851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=91851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}