Caregiver from Indonesia takes care of grandmother in Taiwan
A baby is born in bed while the grandmother’s back is turned.
Taiwanese society shock… Doubtful access to health insurance benefits
In Taiwan, an incident in which a caregiver gave birth alone in the bed of an elderly person she was helping is shocking. On the 14th, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, “An Indonesian caregiver hid her pregnancy and gave birth in her employer’s grandmother’s bed, causing great shock to the grandmother and her family.”
An Indonesian caregiver gives birth in her grandmother’s bed. [이미지출처=대만 가족 페이스북 캡처]
A family living in Hsinchu City, Taiwan hired a female caregiver from Indonesia to care for their grandmother who had difficulty moving about five months ago. This woman worked without any problems for five months, but on the 11th of last month, a strange scene was captured on a CCTV camera installed by her family to check on her condition.
While the grandmother was sitting in a wheelchair with her back to the bed, the caregiver was giving birth naturally on the bed, covered with a blanket. The grandmother was unaware of this, but turned around in surprise when she heard the baby crying. It turned out that the caregiver was pregnant, but it was reported that she worked without informing her of this.
The woman is required to undergo a physical examination in her home country before entering Taiwan, but it is reported that she passed the labor migration examination using a friend’s health examination certificate, not her own. In Taiwan, there is no law requiring migrant workers to take a pregnancy test before employment, so pregnancy was unknown. Even if a woman becomes pregnant after being hired, there is no way to find out unless the woman tells her directly.
The grandmother’s family claims that her caregivers deliberately wore loose-fitting clothes to hide her swollen belly so they did not notice. This is because foreign workers in Taiwan and babies born in Taiwan can receive health insurance benefits.
Also, the reason the family reacts so sensitively is because not only did the woman go through a psychological shock when she gave birth on her grandmother’s bed, but they also suddenly took care of the woman and her baby. According to local regulations in Taiwan, employers who fire pregnant workers or workers who have given birth can be fined up to NT$1.5 million (about KRW 63 million) and have their ability to hire new workers revoked for two years.
However, Taiwan’s International Family Employers Association, which arranged the caregiver, has confirmed that the baby’s father is still in Indonesia and is known to be in the position of sending the baby back to him. Netizens who heard the story responded, “I understand why they can’t fire them, but it’s too unreasonable for employers,” “The regulations need to change,” and “Some migrant workers are abusing Taiwan’s social benefits.”
Reporter Kim Seong-wook abc123@asiae.co.kr
