Maids neglect elderly and young charges as they dance at Bukit Batok playground

Every weekday morning, they gathered at a playground in Bukit Batok to practise their dance moves.

With many dancing in public for TikTok videos nowadays, the sight wouldn't be surprising to residents at Bukit Batok Street 25, except that the group of women were domestic helpers who had their charges — both young and elderly — with them as they danced.

In photos shared by a Lianhe Wanbao reader on April 10, the women appeared to be busy dancing while two elderly men were left sitting in the fitness corner behind them.

A young boy was also seen playing at the playground without anyone watching over him.

The resident who took the photos voiced their concern for the safety of the people the maids were supposed to care for.

Besides dancing in the morning, the women also gathered at the playground in the evenings to chat and have meals together, other residents told the Chinese evening daily. They were also spotted filming dance videos for TikTok.

Once, a resident exercising in the area said he heard a domestic helper telling her elderly charge to endure when he needed to use the toilet. The woman reluctantly took him home after he was unable to wait.

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One of the maids, Siti Nur, admitted to Wanbao that she was in the wrong for getting engrossed in dancing and neglecting the 80-year-old man whom she was caring for.

"On the way home from elder care, sometimes Grandpa wanted to stay downstairs for a while, so I used this time to exercise," the 25-year-old said.

While she promised to pay more attention to the elderly man in future, it may be too late. Siti's employer is looking for someone to replace her after hearing what she has done.

"Although I noticed that she was negligent on some occasions and reminded her that she has to pay close attention to my father, I never expected that she'd betray our trust in this way," he said.

lamminlee@asiaone.com