I refer to the report on a pregnant maid who was jailed for assault and theft (Pregnant maid jailed for assault and theft, Aug 27).

It is important to state from the outset that the actions of Indonesian national Poniyem were wrong. However, focusing on only her misdeeds leaves the story incomplete.

That Poniyem's passport was in her employer's possession has gone without comment.

According to the Ministry of Manpower's (MOM) website, it is an offence to keep or withhold any passport that does not belong to you.

Regardless of her intentions, Poniyem's employer separated a worker in a foreign country from the possibility of going home. In the end, Poniyem may have believed retrieving her passport by force was her best recourse.

We cannot simply conclude that Poniyem and her employer were both at fault. Stories that villainise "bad workers" and "bad employers" already overpopulate public consciousness.

Such stories only worsen mistrust between workers and employers, and become self-fulfilling prophecies.

We need to shift the conversation. For a start, we can do more to educate employers on good employment practices.

No employer should be unaware that it is against the law to withhold his worker's passport.

Similarly, an employment contract mutually agreed upon could go a long way towards preventing breakdowns in communication.

The MOM and Association of Employment Agencies Singapore websites are good resources for employer education.

Good employment practices ultimately benefit everyone, and balanced coverage of workers' stories helps to prevent misunderstanding.

Foreign domestic workers help us with many things at home so that we can pursue the lives that we want. We can do more to recognise their contributions, educate employers about treating workers with dignity and respect, and build up stories of common interests and mutual appreciation.

Kevin Teo