The Big Read: Burdened with family expectations and lured by temptations, some foreign domestic workers get snared in debt trapThe Big Read: Burdened with family expectations and lured by temptations, some foreign domestic workers get snared in debt trap
For months, sleep was hard to come by, she said. “I just keep thinking how to pay back all these people.” She borrowed S$500 from a licensed moneylender in Singapore to pay for her mother’s hospital bills back in Manila and struggled to repay her debt. So she borrowed from another moneylender, and then another.Both Ms Monette and Ms Melissa told TODAY that they know of many fellow maids who are in similar situations – facing piling debts that could spell the end of their working stint in Singapore.
In 2019, a study commissioned by information services company Experian and Hong Kong charity Enrich found that a third of FDWs in Singapore were in debt. The ministry also noted, however, that the number of FDWs borrowing from unlicensed moneylenders was estimated by the Singapore Police Force to be “in the hundreds” and that the figure had been increasing from 2020 to 2022.
For instance, one store charges about S$100 in interest for every gram of gold – so a worker would have to pay S$300 for an item containing 3g of gold on top of its selling price. While there have not been any updated statistics on how many FDWs are in debt since 2019, several charities and maid employment agencies told TODAY that they have seen a rise in complaints from employers about their maids borrowing from unlicensed moneylenders, including loan sharks.
This increase in borrowing was corroborated by spokespeople from the Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics and the Association of Employment Agencies as well. Sitting alongside the struggles that domestic helpers face when they end up in debt is the tricky predicament that employers find themselves in as well.
“We hired her mainly to look after our grandma, who is 106 years old, just in case anything happens when we are out at work,” she said. Starting Aug 16 of that year, they are not allowed to lend to more than 300 foreigners and up to S$150,000 in total loans to foreigners at any one time. The ministry also has a dedicated TikTok account for FDWs, “Friends_SgMDW”, which posts videos in domestic helpers’ native languages to warn them about scams and offer avenues where they can reach out for help if they face financial troubles.Additionally, around 300 member agencies of the AEAS – which the association says handles about 70 per cent of all FDWs placed in