Filipino maid inherits US$4.3-M from Singaporean employer
SINGAPORE - A devoted Filipino maid inherited 6 million Singapore dollars (about US$4.3 million) from her late employer after more than 20 years of service, a newspaper report said Wednesday.
"I am the luckiest maid in Singapore, with or without the money," the 47-year-old single woman -- identified only by the pseudonym "Christine" -- told the Straits Times in an interview.
The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed by their abductors.
The windfall, including cash and a luxury apartment near the Orchard Road shopping belt, came from the estate of her employer Quek Kai Miew, a medical doctor and philanthropist who died last year at 66.
The maid had also taken care of the doctor's late mother, and was told that she would be a beneficiary of her employer's will when it was drawn up in 2008.
"There were no secrets between us. I was not surprised at all when she told me how much I was going to get," the maid recalled.
"Christine" was devastated when Quek died a year ago, as the two were inseparable, and temporarily moved in with the doctor's nephew for solace.
"It was heartbreaking for me as I saw more years with Doctor Quek than with my own mother. I would break down every time I thought about her. I could not be by myself," she said.
"I was always beside her. Wherever she went, I was with her."
The maid, who is now applying for permanent residency in Singapore, said her newfound wealth had not changed her lifestyle.
"I do not really think much about the money I got. I just live my life as I did before, and not as a rich person," the maid, dressed simply in a blouse and slacks with short-cropped hair, was quoted as saying.
"I am still who I was before. I cannot behave differently because I have money now. Even my Filipino maid friends here still treat me the same."
Nearly 200,000 foreign maids, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, work in affluent Singapore, which has a population of five million.
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Lucky?
Is the maid really lucky to inherit such huge money? She spent 20 years of her life taking care of another person instead of her own mother.
Good Intentions..
Sakin lang... Kahit baliktarin man natin ang balita, marami talaga tayong mga kababayan na mapag samantala dahil sa kahirapan at kagipitan sa buhay. Tama, hindi lang pinas ang may nakawan at patawan, PERO TOTOO PARIN NA ISA TAYO DUON..so tama din yung journalist. Di paba obvious sa mga balita na araw araw maraming namatay sa nakawan or rape? Marami din tayung good reputations, pero it does not justify the misdeeds of others. So, tama lang. Kahit ako din, matatakot din ako na baka me humol-up sa family ko dahil marami kang pera. Kahit nga mga ilan-ilan na police involve eh.
Now, that's a true journalist---not scared to say the truth!
THE PHILIPPINES IS POOR AND FULL OF CRIMINALS!
However you want to say it the Philippines is poor and the criminals are evrywhere from the govt., the military, the police, Why be ashaned to tell the truth? Masyadong mataas ang pride ninyo eh totoo naman!! You always want to sugar coat something that is bad about the Phillippines. THE TRUTH HURTS AND YOU CAN NOT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
THE PHILIPPINES IS POOR AND FULL OF CRIMINALS!
However you want to say it the Philippines is poor and the criminals are evrywhere from the govt., the military, the police, Why be ashaned to tell the truth? Masyadong mataas ang pride ninyo eh totoo naman!! You always want to sugar coat something that is bad about the Phillippines. THE TRUTH HURTS AND YOU CAN NOT HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!
Agence France-Presse needs to improve its reporting style
I agree. The report is exaggerated, offending and lacks finesse:
"The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed by their abductors."
What? Is the Philippines the only country in the world where murder and kidnapping takes place?
Thou I'm not a journalist (but I have style), I would write something like:
"The maid refused to be named in public for security reasons as kinapping is not rare for countries like the Philippines where there is still widespread poverty."
Scared of what ?
The maid does not want to be known not because she's scared of criminals but relatives and friends who want to share her fortune.
media not careful
I don't like how the reporter concluded our way of life.
Every nation has it but not to the extent that this media somewhat elaborated for a maximum kill.
Editor's , please you're not contributing any good news but instead destroying our Philippine image.
There are times for good news and good happenings you know...
Just my opinion.
teka
ayos maganda na naman tingin satin niyan sa ibang bansa, Exaggerated naman ang report na yan, ang galing mag twist ng katotohanan ....hindi nakakatulong.
The maid refused to be named in public for fear of possible threats to her life in the impoverished Philippines, where wealthy people have been kidnapped for ransom and some killed by their abductors.
"Sa kahit anong paghihirap sa
"Sa kahit anong paghihirap sa buhay ay may darating din na kaginhawaan...!" As the saying goes. Alas, unselfish service for 20 years is rewarded. I wish you "Christine" the best and do hope that with your new found wealth, you will use it wisely.