In a bid to escape from her allegedly abusive employers, an Indonesian domestic helper tied a bunch of bedsheets together and climbed into a rubbish chute, intending to lower herself down slowly down to the bottom.
Amazingly, she managed to pull it off initially, securing one end of the makeshift rope to the handle of the rubbish chute hopper and the other end around her waist. Unfortunately, she lost her grip and fell into the waste collection bin at the foot of the HDB flat. Seven floors below.
Landing in a heap of rubbish (which did nothing to cushion her fall), she injured her spine and leg and shouted for help. 10 minutes later, the estate’s cleaner found 28-year-old Rindu in the heap.
The New Paper reports that Rindu has since received treatment at the National University Hospital, undergoing three surgeries for her legs and spine. Last month, she left for Batam and is now recuperating in a shelter.
Weirdly enough, The Ministry of Manpower has disputed her claims of mistreatment by her employers. She had become depressed over two and a half months into the job as a domestic helper for a family here — and in the early morning Nov 21, she carried out the escape. She could not walk out the front door as it was electronically locked, and she did not have the keys.
Following the incident however, Rindu did not bring up any of her accusations of mistreatment to the investigating officer from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) despite repeated opportunities to do so. The MOM are still unclear if her claims are accurate, as she raised no complaints against her employers or her employment conditions.
Rindu however has made one thing clear to The New Paper — she claims to have been traumatised by her experience in Singapore, and does not intend to return for work again.
