There were 39 convictions of Singaporeans found to have abused their maids in 2000, compared with just four such cases in 1997. Apart from jail terms and fines, maid-abusers are banned from hiring domestics again.

"MOM takes a serious view of employers and Singaporeans who abuse their foreign domestic workers," the ministry said in response to a query from AFP.

"Any complaint of physical abuse will be thoroughly investigated by the police. Errant employers will be prosecuted in court and punished if convicted," it said.

There are some 140,000 foreign domestic workers in the city-state, mostly from Southeast Asia and South Asia,and the local media have recently highlighted the problem of people beating their maids.

Singapore's Chief Justice Yong Pung How has warned the island's affluent citizens against ill-treating their maids.

"A maid sells her services, she does not sell her person. An employer should not exploit his maid's dependence on him for food and lodging, for these are basic rights," he said in a written judgment.

"A maid's abased social status does not mean that she is any less of a human being and any less protected by the law," Yong said.

With the stiffer penalties imposed in 1998, anyone caught hurting their maids can be jailed for more than seven years, up from the previous five years.

Employers also face more than 10 years in jail if they knowingly cause grievous hurt, such as a fracture or disabling injury, to their maid.

A Singaporean must earn at least S$30,000 (US$16,393) a year in order to hire a foreign maid.

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