Woman who fell to death from Yishun HDB block was Singaporean, not Filipino maid: MOM

SINGAPORE: A woman who had fallen to her death from a Housing Board block in Yishun was a Singaporean and not a Filipino migrant domestic worker, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said on Monday (Oct 16).

In a press release, MOM said it has instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) Office to issue correction directions to Singapore Eye, Gutzy Asia and The Online Citizen Asia for their articles and posts made last Thursday and Friday.

The articles and posts falsely claimed that a woman who had fallen off a building in Yishun and died was a Filipino migrant domestic worker or a Filipino worker.

Gutzy Asia, The Online Citizen Asia and Singapore Eye will be required to publish the correction notice on their website and online platforms, MOM said.

The correction notice has to be inserted against each original post, with a link to the government's clarification, the ministry said in an article published on the government's fact-checking website Factually.

Correction notices were subsequently posted on the Facebook page of The Online Citizen and on Gutzy Asia's article. Singapore Eye had yet to carry a correction notice as of about 7.30pm on Monday. 

On Oct 12, the police received a call for assistance at Block 874 Yishun Street 81. A woman was taken unconscious to the hospital, where she subsequently died.

In the article on Factually, MOM said that Gutzy Asia’s article and Facebook posts had linked the death to “urgent concerns about the wellbeing of domestic workers in Singapore amidst recent similar incidents”. The article and posts also stated that this “spark(ed) calls for greater oversight and reforms to ensure their safety and wellbeing”, said MOM. 

“This is misleading, as it suggests that there has been insufficient oversight by the government over migrant domestic workers’ (MDWs) well-being,” MOM said.

“MOM has put in place a suite of measures to support the mental well-being of our MDWs."

Since April 2021, MOM officers have started house visits to engage some MDWs and their employers directly, the ministry said.

"MOM officers are trained to look out for indicators of stress and discuss any issues raised with employers so that they can be adequately addressed," it added.

MOM, together with the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) under the National Trades Union Congress, has also launched three centres for MDWs and their employers to walk in and seek advice on employment issues. 

The ministry has also made it mandatory for first-time employers to attend an orientation programme, which educates them on their responsibilities of care towards their MDWs, among other measures to support the mental well-being of MDWs.