Filipino maids turn Orchard Road park into mini 'casino' during weekends... THEY'RE likely to earn just $400 a month. But on Sundays, they wager their wages on card games.
And where do they feed their habit and throw away their hard-earned money? Orchard Road. Out in the open.
Filipino maids call the public grounds behind Orchard MRT station Gulong Park. (Gulong is Tagalog for roll.)
And that is where dozens of groups go to roll their money. The New Paper on Sunday went undercover last Sunday to see how this patch of green in the heart of the Orchard area becomes a mini casino during the weekend.
There were about 50 gamblers, most of them Filipino maids. They played games they called '13 cards' (otherwise known as Russian Poker) and 'Tong 8', a Filipino game.
Never mind that the ground was soggy from the heavy downpour that day. It was nothing a few mats and sheets of cardboard couldn't solve.
From afar, the scene looked like any other social gathering of Filipinos - some strummed their guitars while others tucked into food packed in Tupperware.
Until the decks of playing cards were whipped out.
A closer look revealed money being exchanged by some of these 'picnickers'.
Barely an hour after the rain had let up, The New Paper on Sunday counted 10 groups of gamblers, all engrossed in their game. One gambler said there would have been more groups if it had been a sunny day.
'The maids might have decided to spend their time at tea dances (at clubs like those in Orchard Towers) instead, she said.
'But they'll come back here when the dances end.'
The first group of gamblers made a kind of shelter out of some wooden planks even before the rain water had dried up.
Other groups soon followed, laying down their mats and whipping out their cards once the sun started shining again.
BETS AREN'T OPENLY PLACED
Each group had, on average, three players, if they were playing 'Tong 8', while groups playing Russian Poker had more.
Accompanied by a few Filipinos, The New Paper on Sunday sat in on a game with a group of maids playing Russian Poker. Within 15 minutes, close to $80 had changed hands.
On average, players plonked down bets ranging from $2 to $10.
But blink and you'll probably miss where the money goes.
That's because bets aren't openly placed - the loser slips the winner his or her winnings furtively. The winnings are then quickly pushed out of sight in purses conveniently placed right in front of them.
Those without bags were seen folding up the hem of their jeans and hiding their money in the folds. Others simply crumpled the notes and stuffed them in pockets.
Gamblers who doubled as bankers could be seen counting notes kept in envelopes.
A male Filipino gambler said he was there to pass the time rather than win money.
'The bets here are small and you can't win big. If I really want to gamble, I'd gamble at home or at friends' houses.'
Some gamblers said they could win - or lose - as much as $300 or even $500 in a day's gambling there. That's about a month's pay for most Filipino maids.
One Filipina told The New Paper on Sunday she was worried about maids resorting to illegal means to support their habit.
'Some have boyfriends who can lend them money but others borrow from loan sharks or steal from their employers,' she said.
The gambling sessions, she said, had been going on for the last two years.
Gambling in public is illegal. Anyone found guilty can be fined up to $5,000 and/or imprisoned up to six months.
Lawyer Amolat Singh said foreigners also risk having their work permits or employment passes cancelled should they be found guilty of a crime.
THEY CRAVE BIG WINS BUT CAN LOSE EVEN MORE
MARY (not her real name), a Filipina who works in the cleaning industry, thinks it's just a matter of time before the maids move on to bigger stakes.
'I've seen friends who gamble (at Orchard) and get addicted to it. They then crave for even bigger kicks. After finding gambling 'kakis' here, they'll start looking for other places where they can gamble,' said the 48-year-old.
'Usually, they gamble at the houses of friends they meet (at Orchard). At a house, they have the chance to win more money. But they can also lose big.'
Mary should know - her gambling habit led to her Singaporean husband divorcing her after 20 years. She also lost custody of her two children, who are now in their early teens.
A friend had to give up her Singapore PR status so that she could get her CPF savings to pay off loans from loan sharks and friends.
'She's now back in the Philippines. Three others have been divorced by their Singaporean husbands because they've been gambling too much,' she claimed.
All of them, including Mary, have gambled at the public grounds in Orchard.
Mary feels maids who are new to Singapore might be prevented from developing the habit if they can't gamble in public.
'These maids can't use their employers' homes to gamble, and they're not likely to know people who would let them gamble at their homes,' she said.
'The maids earn so little each month, so it's very easy for them to lose all the money they have when they take up gambling.'
Filipino maid Encarnacion Montales, 58, said: 'Typically, maids come here because their families back home depend on them.
'Many of the maids come from rural provinces where poverty is rife, and the money they earn is used to pay for their siblings' education and families' living expenses.
'I hope the maids realise they're spending their money unwisely (by gambling). We never know what the future might bring. Should anything bad happen, any savings would help a lot.'
Ms Montales, president of Filipino Overseas Workers, a volunteer position she has held since 1992, organises courses on expenses, savings and so on at the Bayanihan Centre in Pasir Panjang.
Ms Montales, who has worked as a maid in Singapore for 19 years, hopes to work for a few more.
'My children have university degrees and some have found jobs, but it's still difficult for them to make ends meet. They're simply not making enough,' said Ms Montales, who makes $750 a month and sends half of it home.
Her son is an engineer and one of her daughters is a civil servant. Yet she earns more than twice what they do.
'That's why I'm here - to make money so that my family in the Philippines can have a better life,' she said.
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