Maid? Made?

Someone related an incident which set me thinking about a relatively current issue in Singapore -- the presence of maids in our society. (To be politically correct, lest someone accuses me of being racist) Ermz... i mean domestic helpers. Let me provide some background before i give my five-cent worth.

This particular domestic helper is from Indonesia and has been working at my friend's house for 5 1/2 years. Since i visit my friend quite often, she (the domestic helper) is not just some stranger, but someone i know personally. I have never chatted with her, so i cannot claim to know her well. However, she has always been polite and hardworking and always offered me food and water whenever i visit my friend. Hence it came as a surprise to me when my friend mentioned to me that she had been caught stealing money and had been sent back to Indonesia. I mean stealing was the last thing on my mind and it was something that i never thought she would do.

Now, in case you are wondering whether the domestic helper had been mistreated, the answer is a firm no. I understand that the employer has always regarded her as part of his family and never mistreated her either physically or mentally. Proper rest days were given and salary paid on time. The family had been satisfied with the domestic helper's performance and never thought of finding a replacement. The dramatic twist took place a few months back. The employer had a practice of leaving his wallet on the study table. Since there is no outsider staying in his house, other than the domestic helper whom he treated as a family member too, i guess he probably felt safe to do so. I'm not sure about the exact date but starting from a few months ago, the employer realized that some cash had been consistently missing from his wallet. And it was usually $50 notes. This went on for a while and the employer decided that this cannot go on, so he decided to install a pin-hole camera in his room. And indeed, the next day, footage captured revealed that the domestic helper was the culprit.

Probably out of goodwill and her consistent good performance, the employer did not immediately accuse the domestic helper of theft, but asked her if her family in Indonesia was facing any type of financial difficulties and whether she was having any personal problem. The answer was negative. She acted as if nothing had happened. The employer had no choice but to refer her to the agency and confronted her in front of her agent with the footage and charges. She was given a chance to explain herself but failed to provide any satisfactory explanation. In fact, when they wanted her to cough out the money she had stolen so far, which had amounted to thousands of dollars then, she even pretended to faint. Well in the end, it was no happy ending -- she was returned the money and was sent back to Indonesia. Surprisingly, when she was taking back to the house to pack her stuff, the employer found that she had in her possession a MP3, a handphone and some accessories -- things that revealed her spendthrift nature.

The family was taken aback by the whole incident, so was I. How could a thrifty and diligent domestic helper have undergone such a massive transformation in such a short time? It was a thought-provoking incident which i could not make sense of. I went on to inquire whether there was any mistreatment or grudge of any sort, but no. If there had been any indication or signs that she was unhappy, but no either. If she had appeared unusual, out-of-sort or showed any sign of guilt, but the answer was still negative. However, there was one point raised which could possibly shed light on the incident. My friend commented that she had been hanging out with a group of Indonesian friends in her free time. It was possible that she had been influenced by them or even coaxed into stealing by them. Indeed, for a person who is far away from home, she has no home support to fall back on and is more easily influenced. I guess environment plays a big role in affecting a person's personality. Perhaps her friends had not been good company at all and being her only friends in Singapore, peer pressure and her friends' negative influence could have changed her from a simple person to what she is now.

Just an incident to demonstrate that people DO change and it is easy to succumb to pressure. One's environment determines one's behaviour. Choose who to hang around with wisely!