Maid stole more than S$56,000 in valuables from employer after saying she wanted to end contract

SINGAPORE: After telling her employer that she wanted to stop her employment with the family, a maid stole more than S$56,000 worth of cash and jewellery from a luggage bag in her employer's bedroom while he was in Malaysia.

She passed some of the valuables to another maid and asked her to help sell them. This second maid sold the items to pawn shops but kept a gold necklace and some of the sales proceeds for herself.

The employer later realised some of the valuables kept in the luggage in his bedroom were missing and lodged a police report.

Umi Wachidah, a 33-year-old Indonesian national, was sentenced to eight months' jail on Wednesday (Jan 11).

She pleaded guilty to one charge of theft by a servant.

The court heard that Umi was employed by a 64-year-old Singaporean man to take care of his wife, who had suffered from a stroke and had difficulty moving around.

In June 2020, the employer moved his valuables from his matrimonial home to his new flat, where he lived with his wife and the maid.

The employer kept his cash and jewellery in a luggage bag in his bedroom.

Umi subsequently told her employer that she did not wish to continue her employment.

The victim engaged a new helper to replace Umi.

FOUND OUT EMPLOYER GOING FOR HOLIDAY, DECIDED TO STEAL

Before she left the family, Umi found out that her employer would be going to Malaysia for a holiday with his family in September 2022.

She decided to steal, as she wanted to "enrich herself" before leaving Singapore at the end of her contract, the prosecutor said.

On Sep 24, 2022, Umi opened the luggage bag and took items including jewellery and currencies with a total value of about S$56,800 from it.

On Oct 15, 2022, Umi messaged a fellow Filipino maid and asked to meet up at a rubbish chute. 

She told the other maid that she was going back to Indonesia in November 2022. She passed some of the stolen items to the maid and asked the latter to sell them on her behalf.

Not knowing that the items were stolen, the second maid agreed.

She sold the valuables to pawnshops for a total value of more than S$22,000.

She kept about S$1,700 of the sales proceeds for herself and retained one gold necklace, before handing about S$20,700 to Umi.

Umi gave S$500 to the other maid for helping to sell the jewellery.

The victim eventually realised that some of the valuables from his luggage bag were missing.

His daughter and son-in-law checked Umi's belongings on Nov 3, 2022, and recovered some stolen jewellery and a sum of about 38 million Indonesian rupiah (S$3,442) which had been converted from the sale of some of the stolen items.

Umi admitted stealing from the victim. She said she had remitted about S$11,000 from the theft proceeds to her boyfriend in Indonesia.

She agreed to reverse the remittance, but after deducting service fees, the victim received an amount of about S$9,200.

Umi also returned some of the items she had bought with the theft proceeds.

She was subsequently arrested and remanded.

The prosecutor sought eight to 10 months' jail for Umi, saying she had abused the trust reposed in her as a domestic helper and planned the theft.

While some items were recovered, there was "significant loss" to the victim, he said.

In mitigation, Umi apologised and cried.

"I would like to say sorry. Please make my sentence lighter. I want to go to Indonesia," she said.