The following article was published by The Associated Press on 20 October 2004.
Singapore court orders Indonesian maid be compensated for working for 2 years without pay
Associated Press Newswires, 20 October 2004
SINGAPORE (AP) - A Singapore court ordered that a teenage Indonesian maid receive compensation for working two years without pay after authorities launched an unprecedented appeal on her behalf against her former employer, the manpower ministry said.
Singaporean Enilia Donohue was ordered to pay the maid, 19-year-old Achdaniah, 3,580 Singapore dollars (US$2,130; euro 1,750) in back pay for nearly two years until August 2003, the ministry said in a statement late Tuesday.
Achdaniah's work permit was revoked in 2001 after Donohue failed to pay a monthly maid levy to the government.
But Donohue didn't tell Achdaniah, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, that the permit had been canceled, and she continued working without pay.
The ministry lodged a compensation order on Achdaniah's behalf but it was initially rejected. It appealed to the high court and was granted.
Donohue was fined a total of more than S$18,000 (US$10,715; euro 8,800) by the court.
The ministry said this was the first time it had initiated prosecution against a foreign maid's employer for failure to pay salaries.
"This is also the first time the courts have granted such a compensation order," the ministry said.
More than 140,000 maids, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, are employed in Singapore, a tiny, wealthy Southeast Asian city-state.
Singapore courts frequently hear cases of maid abuse and authorities have come under fire previously from critics who said they were not adequately protecting the rights of foreign domestic helpers.
But recently, the ministry of manpower has tightened rules for employing maids and has implemented additional legislation for their protection.
