Singaporean actress Sora Ma has shared a distressing account of how she “almost lost” her toddler son after her domestic helper allegedly left him alone at home, leading to a fall down the stairs.
In an Instagram post, the 42-year-old single mother said the incident took place during a recent trip to Kuala Lumpur. Ma, whose husband died in 2024, said she had trusted the helper deeply despite her not being “the best with housework,” as she was “amazing” with her son.
However, that trust was shaken when Ma returned home unexpectedly. “The moment I opened the door, Skye was crying uncontrollably. Face red, completely shaken. I had never seen him like that before,” she wrote.
Ma said that the helper was nowhere to be found. “Not in the room, not upstairs, not downstairs. Even her shoes were gone,” she said, adding that her son had fallen from the staircase while trying to come down from the second floor.
Sharing a photo showing bruises on the child’s face, Ma wrote in the caption of the post that the incident was a stark reminder about child safety. “It was never about how long you were gone. It was about how you could leave without telling me, and leave a child behind,” she wrote.
According to a report by Straits Times, Ma later told Chinese-language newspaper Shin Min Daily News that she immediately alerted her aunt to search for the helper. The helper was found within minutes, as her passport had been left behind.
“She explained she had gone out ‘for a while’ to meet a friend,” Ma said, adding that they returned to Singapore the next day.
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Helper fired after the incident
The actress said that the maid agency subsequently spoke with the helper, but she dismissed the helper after feeling that she did not grasp the seriousness of the situation or offer a sincere apology.
Fortunately, the child suffered only minor injuries, including bruises on his face and limbs. However, Ma said the incident has had a lasting emotional impact.
“He has always been a very independent baby; he’s been able to fall asleep on his own since he was born. Now, he wakes up in the night, crying for me, and feels secure enough to go back to sleep only when he is lying on top of me,” she said.
“He also needs someone by his side during his afternoon nap before he’ll close his eyes – this is something that never happened before,” she added.
Ma concluded her Instagram post saying, “There are moments in motherhood that don’t leave you. This is one of them.” She also urged parents to trust their instincts.