A Very Brave Maid

Many of the news regarding home helpers in Singapore these days aren’t flattering. On too many occasions, they’ve been on misdemeanors either on the part of the home helpers, or of their employers abusing their helpers. So, when the below showed up on The Straits Times earlier this week, while on the one hand it’s terrifically sad, it also reminds us that there are real gems in a workforce level that many Singaporeans are starting to take for granted. Formatted to save space, and source here.

Apr 26, 2010
Maid dies saving baby girl

SHE loved them so much that she was even willing to lay her life down for the girls. On Saturday night, Indonesian maid Puji Astutik died proving her love – and saved her boss’ one-year-old.

Ms Puji, 28, was crossing the road with her employer, Mrs Lam’s younger daughter, when an SMRT bus ran into her at the junction of Choa Chu Kang Street 52 and Choa Chu Kang North 6. She flung the baby girl forward but was pinned under the wheels, The New Paper and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao reported.

She was rushed to the National University Hospital, but died later that night from her injuries. The Lams’ daughter suffered minor scratches on her left arm and kept shivering that night. Neighbours remember Ms Puji as a ‘very friendly’ person who would say hi. Mrs Lam said she intended to renew the maid’s contract when it expired in September.

There’s no indication yet of whether the lights at that traffic junction were in the deceased’s favor or not. Not withstanding that, it was still absolutely stunning bravery shown on the part of Ms. Puji, though it also cost her her life.