Maid steals $25k worth of items from employer's safe, gets 8 months' jail

A woman acceded to her domestic helper’s request to return to Philippines for her mother’s funeral, but discovered that said maid had stolen possessions worth S$25,000 while retrieving her passport. 

The 36-year-old maid confessed to the theft of various items from her employer’s safe and closet in the condominium located along East Coast.

She pleaded guilty in court on April 20, 2017, and was sentenced to 8 months in prison on Monday morning (Jul 3), reports Lianhe Wanbao via Lianhe Zaobao. 

Court documents revealed that on Oct 24, 2016, the accused had asked her employer for permission to return to Philippines to attend the funeral of her mother, who had just passed. 

After agreeing to her request, the victim opened her safe to retrieve the accused's passport, but was shocked when she discovered that jewellery and cash stored within had gone missing.

She immediately checked the closet, and found that eight luxury bags had disappeared too, prompting her to call the police.

Investigations by the police revealed that the accused had come across many branded bags while tidying the victim’s closet in September, 2016. 

Tempted, she decided to steal the bags. 

The accused also found a key to the victim’s safe inside the closet.

She subsequently opened up the safe four times within two weeks, stealing jewellery and cash in three different currencies worth S$25,384 in value.

When handing down the verdict, the judge condemned the 'shocking' actions of the accused and said that she had betrayed the trust of her employer.

He pointed that out instead of reflecting on her actions, the accused was emboldened and repeated her crimes. 

Finally the judge dismissed the accused’s lack of prior criminal records as a factor, citing that she had preyed on her employer multiple times.