Over the next 15 minutes, the 32-year-old described to hotline manager Sha Najak, 26, how she had been ill-treated by her employment agent when she arrived in Singapore two years ago.

Her agent had put her up in a filthy house in Tanjong Katong with 40 other first-time foreign domestic helpers from the Philippines and Indonesia. The agent took away her possessions, gave her poor-quality food, and made her strip naked while queueing for her turn to bathe.

Her voice choked as she related the horrors. 'I just wanted to tell somebody what happened to me,' she said.

Embassies and welfare groups tell The Sunday Times that more foreign maids like Gemma are approaching them for help.

Their telephones, in particular, are ringing off the hook.

Mr Lanang Seputro, first secretary of the Indonesian Embassy, said it receives about 60 to 70 calls from Indonesian maids here every day.

Over at TWC2, an advocacy group for migrant workers, Miss Sha said it receives about four to five calls daily.

The number of queries and complaints seem to have grown too. In the past, the conversations would last for only five minutes. Now, they would stretch for 10 to 15 minutes.

The maids report abuse of all kinds - delayed payment, poor food and lodgings, incessant scolding and physical beatings.

Mr John Gee, 54, president of TWC2, was quick to point out that the increase in the number of calls did not necessarily mean abuse cases here have gone up.

Rather, it could be that foreign maids were becoming more aware of their rights and were more willing to speak up. They were also aware of the help available as a result of more widespread public education.

Indeed, official figures suggest that the number of substantiated abuse cases handled by the police has fallen - from 157 cases in 1997 to 68 last year.

But both embassies and welfare groups here caution against looking at numbers alone.

Ms Bridget Lew, 59, president of the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (Home), said: 'It's not a question of whether the numbers have come down. We should address the issue even if there is only one person affected.'

Home, which runs shelters for destitute foreign workers, sees about 100 new cases of abused foreign maids each month, she said.

Embassies and welfare groups say many cases of abuse go unreported.

Few maids here are willing to pursue the matter further despite calling the embassies and welfare groups for help.

Mr Arsi Dwinugra Firdausy, third secretary of the Indonesian Embassy, said: 'It's hard for us to help them because they don't want to confront their employer or tell the police.'

Some are plain scared. Others fear their debts will roll over if the investigations take too long.

The Sunday Times understands that these foreign maids often have to wait for months, sometimes even years, before there is any resolution to their cases.

Even though foreign maids are allowed to work while their cases are processed, some end up being too traumatised to do so, and spend their time in shelters at the embassies and welfare groups.

There are other sticking points.

For example, embassies and welfare groups say employers here tend to have unrealistic expectations of their maids, who are often first-timers here. They add that maid agencies should offer more help to employers and maids who cannot get along.

Welfare groups say giving a day off to maids each week, or each month - which is not a legislated practice here - will also help prevent abuse as employers will be more wary about being found out.

jamieee@sph.com.sg

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