SINGAPORE: An employer has spoken out after a late-night incident in her home caused a power outage and what she described as a “mini explosion”, allegedly triggered by her domestic helper charging her phone with wet hands.
Ms Tan, who shared her experience with Stomp, said the incident occurred on Sept 19 at about 11.50 p.m. She was jolted awake by a loud pop and a power trip that caused her ceiling fan to stop working.
“I was awakened by the sound of a mini explosion and realised the power had gone out,” she said, “I detected a strong burnt smell coming from the kitchen.”
When she went to investigate, she found her Myanmar domestic helper standing there with her handphone.
“I noticed the socket was black and there was a very strong burnt smell coming from it,” Ms Tan recalled to Stomp, “It was puzzling because the socket seemed wet with black ink.”
When questioned, the maid denied having done anything to the socket and claimed she was only trying to switch it off. However, Ms Tan suspected her helper had caused the incident while charging her phone.
“She was smart enough to pull her phone out of the wall before I reached the kitchen,” said Ms Tan.
Attempts to restore electricity by resetting the distribution board were unsuccessful. “The power in my unit could no longer be turned back on. Fear and panic set in,” she said.
Ms Tan’s toddler, who had been sleeping, woke up due to the heat and stuffy conditions. She then called a 24-hour emergency electrical service.
“Half an hour later, the electrician came and power was reinstated,” she told Stomp and added, “He checked my unit and said the melted socket was caused by water from an exterior source, not interior.”
That finding made Ms Tan even more convinced that her maid was responsible.
“I realised it was my helper who had caused all this drama in the middle of the night, and she was full of lies and not sorry for anything,” she recounted, “I asked if she had charged her phone with wet hands. She denied it again.”
Determined to uncover the truth, Ms Tan reviewed footage from her CCTV cameras.
“The whole scenario came to light,” she told Stomp, “The CCTV showed her coming out of the bathroom with wet hands, taking her handphone charger cable, and plugging it into the wall socket. That caused the mini explosion.”
Ms Tan said she was furious that her maid not only caused the incident but also attempted to cover it up.
“This bad helper was obviously full of lies with no remorse,” she said, “If I had been deep asleep, she wouldn’t have called us for help and would have treated it as though nothing happened.
“My child, barely two years old, was at home sleeping. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened if I had not discovered the irresponsible actions of this helper.”
Ms Tan said the helper remained unapologetic throughout the ordeal. “She did not feel remorse at all, and she did not apologise,” she said.
The incident has prompted Ms Tan to warn other employers.
“I strongly urge those who have domestic helpers at home to install CCTV in the common areas,” she told the citizen journalism portal. “It’s difficult to trust them because their phones are more important than their work. They can secretly wake up in the middle of the night and use their phone throughout the night.”
