Indonesian maid falls from Singapore flat

Indonesian maid falls from Singapore flat

SINGAPORE (Agencies): An Indonesian maid died after falling from a Singapore apartment, becoming the seventh foreign domestic helper to topple from a flat while cleaning windows since last year, it was reported on Saturday.

Rini Suryanti died at the National University Hospital from severe injuries after falling from a third-story apartment belonging to her employer's sister, The Straits Times said.

Police are investigating the incident. Regulations on overseas maids require they only work at the address of the official employer as designated in their work permit.

The Foreign Ministry has urged employers not to assign window- cleaning to maids working in high-rises. The 31-year-old woman tumbled only days after starting work in the city state.

Just a few days earlier a Singapore woman was sentenced to 15 months in jail for abusing her Indonesian maid.

Wong Suet Peng, 37, struck the maid with a metal rod, burned her with an iron and broke a bone in her foot by stepping on it, police spokesman Phillip Mah said.

Wong, a housewife, was sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty to four charges of hurting the maid, 27-year-old Winarsih Sukirno, Mah told the Associated Press.

Wong was angry with the maid for not cleaning adequately, The Straits Times newspaper quoted defense attorney Edmond Pereira as saying. The lawyer added that Wong was undergoing psychiatric treatment.

The abuse was revealed after Winarsih dropped notes from Wong's apartment to another Indonesian maid working on a lower floor, Mah said.