S'porean charged over RI maid's death

S'porean charged over RI maid's death

SINGAPORE: A Singapore woman has been charged with negligence for ordering her Indonesian maid out of a window from where she fell to her death, a court document and a press report said on Friday.

Ngu Mei Mei, 37, is charged with ordering the maid, Yanti, to climb with laundry from a study room window to hang out the laundry, a court document said. It said the roof "was not designed for such ordinary human access". The incident allegedly happened on Dec. 20, 2003.

The Straits Times reported that Yanti fell to her death but the charge sheet says only that Ngu "did an act so negligently as to endanger human life." She faces three months in jail, a $S250 (US$150) fine, or both.

New York-based Human Rights Watch in a report last week said maids in Singapore suffered serious abuses including sexual violence, food deprivation and home lock-ups.

The government called the report "a gross exaggeration" and defended existing legislation protecting foreign domestic workers. -- AFP