3 years, 2 months’ jail for helper who stole S$210,000 from employer & bought land, cars, & condos back home

SINGAPORE: A foreign domestic worker who had worked for a Singaporean employer for about a decade and stole cash and jewellery from them has been sentenced to three years and two months in jail.

Forty-seven-year-old Raguindin Alma Bassig, who is from the Philippines, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft by a servant on Friday (July 17), and three other charges were considered for her sentencing.

Raguindin used the money to buy land, cars, and condominium units back home. Today, the amount Raguindin stole from her employers would be worth more than 10 million Philippine pesos.

Her employer told the court about the betrayal she felt, given that she had given the helper a lot of trust. According to reporting from CNA, her victims have recovered none of the stolen property, and District Judge Koo Zhi Xuan said that it was “highly uncertain” that any of these would be recovered.

The backstory

The helper began working for the victim’s family in March 2016. During the course of her work, she found a safe in a wardrobe in her employer’s bedroom, later finding the key to the safe in a coat hanging in the wardrobe.

Raguindin took money in different currencies, including euros, pounds and yen, from the safe from January to December 2022. She also took gold, silver, and jade jewellery worth S$77,851 during this time, including some costly items from Van Cleef & Arpels.

She bought the money and jewellery with her when she went home to the Philippines on a vacation leave, converting the cash to the local currency and either selling, pawning, or keeping the jewellery.

Unsatisfied with the amount she had already stolen, she took more cash and jewellery worth a total of S$84,469 in June 2024, again taking these home and using them to buy properties and vehicles.

By November 2025, her employer saw that some items were no longer in her safe, and the following May, she installed a motion-sensor camera in her bedroom.

On May 29, 2025, the employer received an alert from the camera, and she saw the helper again taking items from the safe. This led to a police report, and Raguindin was arrested shortly afterwards.

The employer, a 54-year-old woman, expressed both disappointment and heartbreak over the helper’s actions, especially since she had trusted Raguindin during the years she worked for her and had been generous toward her. She also said that judging from the luxury items the helper bought with the stolen proceeds, Raguindin did not steal out of financial need. 

“The accused gravely abused the trust of her employer,” Judge Koo noted. /TISG

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