The family of a maid has responded after a photo showing their domestic helper sleeping outside their house made its rounds online.

Stompers Eds and Espina alerted Stomp to the image that was apparently taken by a netizen on Jun 18 at a condominium in the east of Singapore, according to Shin Min Daily News.

In the photo, the maid can be seen sleeping on pieces of cardboard and a headrest in a narrow corridor outside a house.

Stomper Eds told Stomp that the photo was posted on Facebook group 'Filipinos in Singapore' by a netizen. She also informed us that the image was posted on All Singapore Stuff. The post however, has since been taken down.

Stomper Espina alerted Stomp to an article on Trending News Portal saying that the domestic helper was made to sleep outside the house while the employers were on holiday. According to the article, the maid's employers did not want her to stay in her apartment while they were away.

The maid's employers have stepped up to provide an explanation of what happened after the photo made its rounds online.

According to a report by Shin Min Daily News, the family had been on a vacation in India during the time of the incident.

When reporters spoke to the maid at the condominium, she said: "It was all a mistake.

"I thought they (employer and family) were returning back to Singapore that night (Jun 18), so I chose to wait at the corridor.

"I did not want to trouble anyone else, so I just slept on the corridor that night."

She later found out that her employers did not receive a message that she had sent them.

The patriarch of the family also said: "The rumours online aren’t true at all. They’re completely baseless accusations. We did not ill-treat our maid at all."

He added that he and his wife had received his maid’s message on Monday morning (Jun 19), telling them that the photo had gone viral online.

However, the family was still in India then.

He added: "When we saw how out of hand the situation had become, we contacted the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) immediately to schedule an appointment.

"The moment my wife and I touched down in Singapore this morning (Jun 20), I brought maid to MOM to clarify the matter.

"MOM is still investigating the mater and the moment that ends, we will publicise that we are innocent."