A resident living opposite Mr Wang's flat took this picture of Ms Bondoc, who risks her life when she climbs onto the ledge onto the ledge to clean the windows.
Allegedly falling while wiping windows, a 26-year-old Migrant Domestic Worker (PRT) from Indonesia who was found lying unconscious at the foot of an apartment block near the Hougang MRT station was pronounced dead at the hospital, Wednesday (31/3/2021).
Reported by The StraitsTimes, the Police said that they had received a resident’s report from Block 464 Jalan Serangoon Atas at 4:53 pm, Monday (29/3). The unconscious victim was immediately taken to Sengkang General Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
A neighbor who lives in the same building, who declined to be named, told The Straits Times that the Indonesian victim is believed to have been employed by an elderly woman who is usually seen in a wheelchair.
When confirmed, the elderly employer, who only wanted to be known as Mrs Chen, told China’s evening newspaper Shin Min Daily News that her children started hiring a domestic worker to look after her about six months ago.
Chen confessed that on Monday he had heard his domestic worker scream twice. But when he, who was walking with a cane, searched the kitchen, storeroom and toilet, he couldn’t find the maid.
Mrs. Chen’s children told Shin Min that they would contact the domestic worker’s agency to resolve the funeral arrangements and would also cooperate with the embassy so that the body of the domestic worker could be returned to Indonesia as soon as possible.
According to the testimony of a fellow domestic worker from Indonesia who claimed to be a friend of the victim to the Chinese newspaper Lianhe Wanbao, she admitted that on Monday, at 4:41 pm, she had received a text message from the deceased complaining of feeling dizzy and having a headache.
With tears in her eyes, the domestic worker confessed that she regretted not reading and replying to the message immediately and only found out about the incident after seeing many police officers downstairs.
According to the police, it was discovered that the window in the flat where the victim worked was found open and it is suspected that the victim fell while cleaning it. Local police are conducting further investigations to determine the cause of death.
In June 2012, Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced that employers are not allowed to allow migrant domestic workers to clean the outside of windows unless stringent safety conditions are met.
An employer or adult representative must be present to supervise the domestic worker while wiping windows and window grilles must be installed and locked at all times during cleaning.
The rule comes after five migrant domestic workers died after cleaning windows in an unsafe manner between January and June 2012.
