Family pays for a helper and gets a surprise — she’s pregnant

PETALING JAYA: A family here paid over RM10,000 in agency fees for the “fast delivery” of their Indonesian maid, only to find she is pregnant.

They claimed, however, that when they tried asking for a replacement, the agency refused to take responsibility.

Instead, the agency alleged that she only became pregnant after she was sent to the employer’s home.

Businessman S. Rajah, 59, said his family had contacted the Puchong-based agency after it promised a “fast delivery” in an advertisement in a pamphlet.

“We were desperately in need of a maid at the time to care for my one-year old grandson and help with housework,” he said when met at his home yesterday.

As the maid had come into the country on a tourist visa, the agency then arranged for her work permit and the Fomema medical check-up via a procedure known as the Journey Perform (JP) visa.

Under the JP Visa method, the domestic worker is brought into the country on a tourist visa, which is then converted into a work permit by the agency or the employer through an application to the Immigration Department.

Rajah said after the family paid the fees, they brought the maid home in July last year.

“When we received the results of the medical test from Fomema two months later, we were shocked to find that she was pregnant,” he said, adding that they confirmed her pregnancy with another clinic.

Rajah said the family was told the maid was already 11 weeks pregnant although she had only been with the family for a fortnight.

“I immediately contacted the agency. Although we had all the evidence, they refused to believe us or offer a replacement,” he claimed.

The family lodged a police report and is now planning to take legal action against the agency.

“I had no idea I was pregnant when I agreed to come here to work. I had dizziness and nausea during the training sessions (in Indonesia) but I only found out I was pregnant after the medical test here,” said the maid, 37-year-old Masamah, who has a husband and two children back home in Jakarta.

Although Masamah wants to return home, she is now stuck here due to the struggle between her employer and maid agency.

Meanwhile, Rajah said the family had hired another maid, a Sri Lankan, as Masamah could no longer do much work.

“They treat me very well. I do simpler work like folding clothes, sweeping and helping with the cooking,” Masamah said.

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