A 25-year-old domestic worker from Myanmar was sentenced to nine months in prison after she stole more than S$10,000 (approx. RM33,000) from her Singaporean employer, who is disabled.
Employer entrusted maid with ATM card
According to Shin Min Daily News, the maid named Yin (transliteration), began working for her 68-year-old wheelchair-bound employer, Liu, in October 2023.
Liu had suffered a stroke and needed help with daily care and chores.
Liu paid Yin a monthly salary of S$550 (approx. RM1,795) and would ask her to help withdraw money using her ATM card whenever her nephew wasn’t available to do so, which gave Yin access to Liu’s PIN number.
Nephew spots suspicious activity
On Nov 10, 2024, Liu’s nephew noticed irregularities in Liu’s bank transactions and discovered that Yin had made several unauthorised withdrawals.
Upon filing a police report, it then uncovered the full scale of Yin’s dishonesty.
Between April 26 and October 30, 2024, Yin withdrew money from Liu’s bank account 19 times. Each withdrawal ranged from S$100 (approx. RM326) to S$500 (approx. RM1,632), which she then deposited into her personal account.
In total, she stole S$10,130 and spent it on clothes and cosmetics. No restitution has been made thus far.
‘I don’t know why she did this’
Liu was rather upset by Yin’s betrayal and expressed her disappointment to Shin Min Daily News.
I was quite nice to her. I even cooked for her as she apparently wasn’t good at cooking. I don’t know why she would do this.
“She didn’t apologise, and I didn’t get my money back,” she lamented.
Liu also revealed that Yin often used her mobile phone while working and did not take her job seriously. Furthermore, Yin had previously requested to end her two-year contract early but did not explain why.
During the court hearing, Liu’s nephew said his aunt was still deeply affected by the incident and would cry each time she talked about it.
In mitigation, Yin pleaded guilty to one count of theft and expressed remorse for her actions.
She also asked the judge to be lenient and let her go home soon.
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