Ms Sheena Kanwar of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics said a study found that having their own rooms to sleep in was a crucial factor for good mental health among maids ("Training needed for maids tasked to care for elderly"; yesterday).

However, the vast majority of Singapore's population cannot afford large homes to allow maids to have their own rooms.

Many homes these days are also much smaller than before, with some private apartments' kitchens so tiny that only one or two people can be in one at the same time.

Some families have their aged parents living with them, thus, it is difficult to accord maids a room of their own, given space constraints.

Should housing developers put more thought into allocating a room for maids in their designs?

Amanda Choo Chiew Kuen (Ms)