Maid who stole jewellery, cash and household items from employer gets 5 months' jail

SINGAPORE - A little over a week before Castro Meldy Aloquina was to return home, her employer checked the maid's belongings.

Among them, the employer found jewellery, a stack of foreign currencies and household items that belonged to her.

Castro, 32, was found to have stolen $14,733.35 worth of items and cash from her employer and the Filipina was sentenced to five months' jail on Wednesday (Dec 29) in court.

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

According to court documents, Castro had been working for the employer - a 46-year-old Singaporean woman - since June last year.

She was paid $662 each month, or $692 if she did not take days off work, and her main duties were to perform household chores.

Castro started stealing from her employer from January this year.

State prosecuting officer Lam Peng Choy said: "As she went about her daily chores in the residence, the accused would dishonestly take items from (her employer's) wallet and drawers."

One of these drawers was locked and Castro knew that the key for it was kept in a bag. She used the key to access the drawer and placed it back in the bag after stealing items.

Between January and November this year, Castro stole from her employer on at least 50 occasions.

Among the items she stole was a gold-coloured rectangular plate valued at $2,388 and a gold-coloured necklace valued at $1,189.

She also stole a gold abacus, a key-shaped gold jewellery and a gold chain.

She also stole $4,225 in cash, with which she used to buy gold jewellery.

Some time before November, Castro decided to stop working for her employer and was supposed to return to the Philippines on Nov 28.

After her employer found the items in the maid's possession on Nov 20, Castro admitted to stealing from her.

The employer spoke with the maid's employment agency and called the police the next day to report the offence.

For theft by a servant, Castro could have been jailed for up to seven years and fined.

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.