SINGAPORE - When her employer went to Malaysia for a holiday with his family, a domestic worker took the opportunity to steal valuables worth more than $56,000 from him.
Umi Wachidah, a 33-year-old Indonesian, was sentenced to eight months’ jail on Wednesday after pleading guilty to one charge of theft by a servant.
State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lim Yeow Leong said Umi was hired by her employer in December 2020 because his wife had difficulty moving around after suffering a stroke. Umi’s main duty was to take care of her.
In June 2022, the 64-year-old employer moved his valuables from his matrimonial home to his current home, and kept his cash and jewellery in a piece of luggage in his bedroom.
During that period, Umi told him that she wanted to stop working in Singapore. Court documents did not state the reason.
In September 2022, after finding out that her employer would be away in Malaysia for a holiday with his daughter and her family, Umi decided to steal from him.
“She decided to commit theft as she wanted to enrich herself before leaving Singapore upon ending her employment,” said SPO Lim.
Umi stole around $56,700 in cash and gold jewellery, among other things. In October 2022, she messaged a Filipino maid to meet her near a rubbish chute and told her she was returning to Indonesia the next month.
Umi passed some of the stolen jewellery to her friend to sell on her behalf. The other maid agreed, not knowing they were stolen items.
She sold the valuables to pawnshops for a total value of more than $22,000. She kept $1,700 of the sales proceeds as well as a gold necklace, and gave about $20,700 to Umi, who then gave her $500 for her help.
SPO Lim said the Filipino maid will be dealt with separately.
That same month, Umi’s employer realised some of his valuables in the luggage were missing. He informed his daughter, and she and her husband later checked Umi’s belongings and found some of the stolen jewellery and cash.
Umi confessed to her employer’s daughter that she had stolen the items.
Those who steal from an employer in the capacity of a clerk or servant can be jailed for up to seven years and fined.
