S’pore Mum Says Helper Took Salary Advance, Disappeared, And Left Her Dealing With Loan Sharks

While social media often lights up over cases of domestic helpers being mistreated, content creator Sylvia Sia recently shared that she found herself on the other end of the spectrum: facing weeks of harassment and threats after showing compassion to her helper.

In an Instagram post on November 13, Sylvia recounted how what began as an act of kindness spiralled into a nightmare involving loan sharks, harassment, and police reports.

Yikes.

Sylvia has since written to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), who informed her that her now ex-helper will no longer be allowed to work in Singapore.

According to Sylvia, the ordeal began on October 22, when her helper claimed that her husband had been badly injured in an accident and begged to fly home immediately. She also said her son had been hospitalised with dengue and asked for her salary in advance.

“She said he couldn’t move and was crying very sadly, red eyes and constantly sniffing,” Sylvia wrote.

Wanting to help, Sylvia agreed to give her the salary in advance, paid for her flight, and expected her to return by October 27.

She never did.

The last time Sylvia heard from her was when the helper said she had just landed and was waiting for her bus home. After that, calls and messages went unanswered, and even attempts to reach her Indonesian number failed.

“Out of goodwill, we gave her salary in advance. At that point, we didn’t think too much of it,” Sylvia wrote, admitting in hindsight that she had been “too kind and trusting.”

The situation took a shocking turn when Sylvia’s father-in-law spotted the helper on TikTok, where she had posted a video of herself in a car with her husband and kids, who looked perfectly healthy.

“The account suddenly disappeared as she realised we had viewed her story and either blocked us or deleted her account,” Sylvia wrote.

Their agent later confirmed that the helper had run away and advised them to cancel her work permit.

But things got worse.

Just days later, on October 26, Sylvia discovered that her ex-helper had taken loans from loan sharks using Sylvia’s home address. Soon after, the family began receiving threatening messages and spam calls.

“It’s extremely worrying and frightening, especially since we have two young kids at home,” she wrote.

To make matters worse, Sylvia’s ex-helper had also given her parents’ home address to moneylenders.

“My parents suddenly received unwanted GrabFood deliveries that asked for cash-on-delivery. My dad had to file a police report as well due to this harassment,” she shared.

Sylvia said the constant threats have caused immense anxiety for her and her family.

“This evil helper has brought so much fear and anxiety upon our family, and even to my parents’ and sisters’ households, who also have young kids,” she wrote.

While communication with MOM has brought some relief, Sylvia says she hopes authorities can do more.

“I hope no other employers go through the same painful experience. I also hope that authorities can look into how to better support employers in such situations,” she added.

Photos: sylviasia/IG