The writer is a Singapore-based journalist

Last week, a Chinese migrant worker in Singapore stood atop the fourth floor of his dormitory and threatened to jump. He had been living in a block that had been cleared after a coronavirus outbreak and wanted to go home. But he became embroiled in a dispute with his employer, who controlled his work permit, and had to be talked down by local officials, according to the city-state’s Ministry of Manpower.

The sprawling dormitory complex where he lived had been advertised by its owner as Singapore’s cheapest, and is now one of the nation’s largest Covid-19 clusters with thousands of cases. More than 323,000 low-paid migrants live in cramped conditions, where up to 20 men are packed into a single room, sleeping in bunk beds, sharing bathrooms and dining areas.