Singapore Ministry of Manpower ( MOM) reiterated Thursday that a report by the Human Rights Watch ( HRW) grossly exaggerates and misrepresents maids' condition in the city state.

"Your report grossly exaggerates and misrepresents the state of 150,000 FDWs (foreign domestic workers) who choose to work in Singapore because of better conditions here," Jean Tan, press secretary to the minister for Manpower said in a letter.

In response to a HRW letter to Singapore Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen issued on the same day, Tan noted that HRW repeats " baseless allegations of 'systemic patterns of mistreatment' and ' rampant abuse' of FDWs in Singapore" while acknowledging that "no data exists to calculate the number of migrant domestic workers who confront labor rights and other human rights violations."

"With such flawed standards of research and reporting, it would be difficult to treat your findings and conclusions seriously," Tan said.

HRW, in its letter to Ng, claimed that FDWs do not receive equal protection under Singapore's labor laws, adding that its conclusions are based on extensive research and consultation, its interviews and review of case studies of 90 domestic workers, as well as information provided by the governments of Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka.

On December 6, HRW published a report entitled "Maid to Order: Ending Abuses against Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore," which provoked a controversy between the human rights watchdog and the Singapore government.

Source: Xinhua