A Filipino domestic worker in Singapore allegedly borrowed money from loan sharks using her employer’s name, resulting in her boss getting harassed by debt collectors after the maid fled back to the Philippines without repaying the loans.
On January 20, Ruby Mathur posted a message on Facebook that her domestic worker, Michelle Romero Tolentino, had borrowed money from underground lenders in Mathur’s name.
Earlier this month, Tolentino told Mathur that her husband had been shot to death and she needed to return to the Philippines. She left Singapore after Mathur paid for her plane ticket.
Two hours after Tolentino left, Mathur said, loan sharks started calling her. She discovered that Tolentino had borrowed thousands of dollars from unlicensed money lenders and used her employer as her guarantor, by giving the loan sharks Mathur’s name and mobile number.
She believes Tolentino lied about her husband’s death and that she used the names of other Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers to borrow money as well.
Mathur advised netizens to check the profiles of domestic workers before hiring them, and that Tolentino should be blacklisted from working anywhere. She warned other employers not to hire her.