Tan Kin Lian's Blog: Privacy?

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Privacy?

Some working couples leave their maid at home alone during the day. They stand the risk that the maid may invite visitors into their home.

I suggested that they install a camera at home to record visitors. A few people argued that this shows a lack of trust of the maid or intrude into their privacy.

Here are the positive reasons:

- the camera record the main entrance to the home only
- there are many parts of the home that the maid can keep her privacy
- when we use an ATM machine or visit a shopping mall, we are being recorded

Trust is mutual. If the maid does not respect my right to protect my property, it is all right. I can look for another maid.

There are many ways to show kindness and respect to the maid. We can pay an adequate salary and give time off.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...: and so are you going to video cam your windows too? and soon enough won't you want to video cam your maid's room too? once you start there's no reason why people won't want to go all the way.

Also, being filmed in banks and public places, most people assume that the footage is not kept for the personal pleasure of someone to view at whim. This is different from what is being suggested here.

and I doubt that showing kindness to maids is high on most people's list, if it involves inconvenience for them.; August 04, 2005 1:49 AM
Anonymous said...: What happen if you got videocam at your maid room?; August 04, 2005 5:33 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Dear Jing and Anonymous,

There is no need to record the window and the maid's room.

It will be boring to watch the video, except to see if any stranger visit the home.; August 04, 2005 10:15 PM
Anonymous said...: There is no intrusion of privacy as long as the camera is installed to record movements at the main entrance.; August 05, 2005 1:16 AM
Anonymous said...: Good idea!
Please tell me what is the cheapest and the most hasselfree way to install a videocam. Why not sell some reliable DIY videocams(soft & hardware) at the NTUC shops for people to buy. (I was quoted high prices at the Sim Lim Square shops); August 05, 2005 9:09 AM
K.S. said...: "There are many ways to show kindness and respect to the maid. We can pay an adequate salary and give time off."

Again I must protest and show my displeasure against elitist and inhumane views! Please refer to my earlier comments on one of the video recording topics you wrote on July 2005.

Maids are HUMAN! They are here simply because their countries are too poor to feed them. What do you mean by adequate pay? Do you think they are really satisfied with the miserable 200 ~ 300 SGD? Do you? If they have a choice, do you think they would have prefer to work in HK or England instead?

In England, maid work only for a certain hours, do certain pre-determined tasks, even the employers got to cook for them and serve them during dinner! That's humanity! Come to think of that, a CEO of a Union-linked company (which the Union is of course linked to the government, I shall not invite trouble by claiming the government owed it) speaking in such a inhumane way! For goodness sake, for all the so-many travels you went through (much more than me) and you still think you are treating maids as human? I would have sued you if this is the USA! Human rights are for the humans (or homo sapiens if you are educated-enough to understand).

I am a TRUE-BLOOD Singaporean, by the way, and I hate it when people, especially people in high positions, gave these kinds of irresponsible thoughts - it goes to show that these people (meaning you!) have a golden something somewhere, waiting for people to discover.; August 09, 2005 11:21 PM
Tan Kin Lian said...: Dear K S

There is no need for you to jump to the wrong conclusion.

In my personal opinion, a salary of $200- 300 is inadequate.

Do not use the label of "true blooded Singaporean" and make unjustified statements that reflect poorly on the rest of Singaporeans.

My office has 24 hour surveillance camera, and I am recorded all the time. There is nothing discriminatory in this practice.; August 10, 2005 7:37 AM
wantunn said...: Another option if you use a PC for recording would be to link it to a system that uses motion detection so your camera only records when something changes.

It would be boring in the extreme to have to review 8 hours worth of footage of your door every night, even on high speed.; August 11, 2005 3:13 PM