Trusting someone like family, only to later discover they had been stealing from you behind your back, is a betrayal many would struggle to recover from.
That was exactly what happened to a 78-year-old woman in Singapore, who treated her Myanmar domestic helper like her own daughter for years, only to find out the helper had allegedly been secretly withdrawing money from her bank account.
Maid allegedly stole ATM card and memorised PIN
According to Shin Min Daily News, San Thidar, the 31-year-old maid from Myanmar, pleaded guilty to one count of theft.
Another charge of criminal breach of trust was also taken into consideration during sentencing.
The helper had reportedly worked in Singapore for seven years, with the elderly victim, Wang Fengling (transliteration), being her second employer.
At the time of the incident, she had already been working for the family for five years and earned a monthly salary of around RM2,000.
She was initially hired to care for Wang and her husband, Gong Yingjin (transliteration). Even after Gong passed away, the helper continued looking after Wang while also handling cooking and daily household chores.
However, during her time with the family, the helper allegedly memorised the PIN number of Wang’s ATM card without her knowledge.
The elderly woman usually kept her ATM card inside a pink pouch placed in a red handbag, which was often left in either the living room or bedroom.
The helper would then allegedly take the ATM card out secretly, withdraw money from nearby ATMs, and quietly return the card to its original place before Wang noticed anything.
Elderly woman shocked after updating passbook
Investigations later revealed that between July 8 and Sept 16, 2025, the accused allegedly made 15 unauthorised withdrawals from ATMs around Bukit Batok and Kembangan.
The withdrawn amounts ranged between RM600 and RM3,100 each time, bringing the total amount stolen to approximately RM29,000.
The incident only came to light on Sept 26, when Wang updated her bank passbook and noticed multiple suspicious withdrawals from her account.
Among them were two withdrawals of around RM3,100 each allegedly made on Sept 16 at Kembangan MRT station.
After contacting the bank, Wang was informed that all the withdrawals had been successfully carried out using her ATM card and the correct PIN number.
Her daughter, 49-year-old Gong Huixuan (transliteration), later lodged a police report on Sept 29.
Investigations also revealed that Wang had allowed the helper to visit relatives in Kembangan on the same day the final withdrawals were made, leading authorities to suspect she had taken the opportunity to withdraw the cash then.
The accused was eventually arrested on April 21 this year and charged the following day.
To date, the stolen money has reportedly not been recovered, and no compensation has been made.
Family says they treated helper like one of their own
Gong shared with Shin Min Daily News that the family had always treated the helper like family.
During festive seasons, they would give her angpows and presents. When there was a funeral in the helper’s hometown, Gong and her siblings even pooled money together to buy her a flight ticket and gave her an extra RM1,800 to help her settle family matters back home.
Unfortunately, the family never expected things would end this way.
My mother was extremely heartbroken after finding out. That money was what my father left behind for her after he passed away in 2024,” she said.
“The helper strongly denied it at first. I only confirmed she had stolen the money after checking her bank account.”
Allegedly opened 2 phone shops and bought motorcycle back home
According to China Press, Gong claimed during court proceedings that the helper had taken a bag of coins from their home, though the helper denied the accusation and claimed she had no money to offer any compensation.
The bag of coins was said to belong to her late father and was kept at home before it mysteriously disappeared. She suspected the helper may have taken it as well.
While pleading for leniency in court, the accused repeatedly apologised to the elderly woman and her daughter, saying she deeply regretted her actions.
However, she maintained that she was financially unable to repay the stolen money and continued denying the allegation involving the missing coins.
The judge later stated that the court would only make its ruling based on the available evidence presented.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, Gong said she personally did not believe the helper was truly remorseful.
From what I noticed, she has already opened two phone shops in her hometown and even bought a motorcycle using my father’s money,” she claimed.
Despite betrayal, the elderly woman still misses her
Despite everything that happened, Gong admitted that the helper had once cared for her parents attentively and was also a very good cook whom her mother adored.
As a result, Wang still talks about her to this day.
We’ve hired two new helpers since then, but my mother still unconsciously compares them to her and feels they’re not as good.
“Even now, she still asks how the helper is doing and worries about her wellbeing,” Gong said.
She added that the family now plans to hire another helper to continue caring for her mother, but they have since taken extra precautions by keeping valuables safely stored and installing CCTV cameras in the house.
I hope others can learn from our experience, especially families with elderly members at home.
“Sometimes, trusting a helper too much makes it harder to notice problems early on.”
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