Four Employers Stung by Agency Referring Unfit Maids

Image Caption: Malaysian Chinese Association in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Google Maps

The domestic helpers hired through a ‘speedy’ agency in Selangor state either ran away or were unsuitable

By ASIA TIMES STAFF 

Four employers say they were victimized by an employment agency in Bandar Puteri, Puchong, a town in Malaysia’s Selangor state, which promised speedy referral services of foreign domestic workers, but the maids either ran away or were unsuitable for employment.

Accompanied by Michael Chong, the head of the Malaysian Chinese Association’s public services and complaints department, the four  employers spoke to the media on Wednesday regarding their misfortunes, China Press reported. The MCA is a political party that caters to ethnic Chinese.

Bottom of Form

One couple, both 42, were recommended by friends to the employment agency in question, and were advised that there were maids who were already in Malaysia and ready to be employed.

The couple paid 16,700 ringgit (US$4,155) to hire an Indonesian domestic helper, who was caught trying to run away after being employed for less than a week of employment, the wife recalled.

She got a new maid at once, only to find out that she was unable to work as she had been diagnosed with tuberculosis.

Two other employers – a 42-year-old housewife surnamed Foo and a 55-year-old sales executive surnamed Poon – paid 16,200 ringgit and 9,000 ringgit respectively to the same agency to hire domestic helpers.

Foo’s maid ran away after three months. Poon’s domestic was found not only to have come to Malaysia on a tourist visa, it had since expired.

All four victims complained to the Tribunal for Consumer Claims under the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry. As of the day of the report, however, they had yet to receive any compensation from the accused agency.

The Human Resources Ministry should cancel the permits of such companies, Chong argued, adding that his department would continue to help the victims by chasing down the accused.

(Source: atimes.com)