Singapore is regularly shamed by tales of rape, beatings and even the murder of maids, who are treated like slaves by the wealthy Singaporeans who hire them. Most maids in Singapore are from Indonesia and the Philippines. The number of abuses reported to police rose from 105 in 1994 to 192 in 1997, with 157 resulting in action against offenders. Under amendments to the penal code, penalties for certain offenses were increased 1.5 times. Wong said maids are female, work within their employers' home for 24 hours except on their time off, are largely isolated from the rest of society, and dependent on their employer for food and lodging.
All employers have an obligation to treat their maids humanely and decently.
He said the incidence of maid abuse was still low relative to the number of domestics, but abuses must be curbed before they get out of hand. Singapore's three million people enjoy the highest standard of living in Asia outside Japan. The government has been educating them to work for a more gracious society after achieving prosperity in just one generation. The country's prisons are going to slap barcodes on their inmates so that computers can track their every move. Each con will have to wear an unbreakable ID bracelet that carries his or her own personal label, the Straits Times newspaper reported Tuesday.