A domestic helper from Myanmar threatened her employer at knifepoint, hit her with a laptop until it broke, tied her up, and then stole over $37,000 worth of items.
She then proceeded to buy a ticket to go home. Before she bought her plane ticket, however, she was overheard talking about how “easy” it is to rob a person in Singapore.
Before the assault, the maid turned off the CCTV outside her employer’s mother’s bedroom and cut the wires of the kitchen CCTV.
The employer had disabled the CCTV in her own bedroom before turning in for the night.
On the morning of the incident, the employer woke up because she felt something sharp on her neck. The helper was holding a kitchen knife to her, asking for her valuables.
The maid also told the woman not to do anything “stupid” and threatened to kill her.
The employer struggled, cutting her hands on the knife, but the helper prevailed, sitting on the employer’s back and hitting her on the head with the employer’s own laptop until it broke.
The helper tied up the employer. Upon the helper’s demand, the woman told her that the key to her drawer where her valuables were was in her purse.
The helper retrieved the key and was able to take all the woman’s valuables. She also took a diamond ring and pendant the employer was wearing at the time.
The total amount of valuables the maid took was $37,274.15.
Keeping her employer tied up, the maid asked her for instructions to get to the airport.
While she was preparing to leave, neighbours heard her say how easy it was to rob a person in Singapore.
The employer was able to remove the cloth that bound her, secured her flat against the maid’s return, and then called for help.
The maid, who had bought a plane ticket at City Hall, proceeded to the airport in a taxi to board her flight, using the employer’s credit card to pay for the cab.
Police arrested her at Changi Airport.
On Thursday (Feb 24), she pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous hurt while committing robbery armed with a deadly weapon. Another count of cheating by personation was considered for her sentencing, which has been scheduled for Mar 21.
The maid worked for her employer, whose identity is under a gag order, since Nov 2019. She was responsible for the care of her employer’s 83-year-old mostly bedridden mother, as well as other chores, Yahoo! Singapore reported.
The victim had asked for a gag order because she said she was traumatised by the assault and wanted to move on from the incident, which occurred on Jan 17, 2020.
Jane Lim, the Deputy Public Prosecutor on the case, is asking for a seven to an eight-year jail sentence for the helper, plus another six months as she cannot be caned due to her gender.
Yahoo quotes Ms Lim as saying, “Crimes of this nature and their… patterns are rarely associated with in Singapore especially given the number of foreign domestic workers working in Singapore. Such an offence violates every sense of safety and security that we hold dear.”
The maid’s lawyer, Yvonne Mak, asked for a jail term of only six years, citing the woman’s difficulties as a single mother. She added that the helper had had a hard time with her employer, who she claimed refused her request to let her go home after two months of work.
She also said she was not happy with the food provided to her, was not given days off, and was made to do tiring tasks for long hours.
The helper had no friends in Singapore, Ms Mak added.
“Her salary was around $300 and her employer had told her she will have to reimburse a sum of $5,000 which would have been impossible for her to raise. She felt that she had no choice but to serve two years of contract and the wait was intolerable for her given she was so unhappy,” Yahoo! quotes the defence lawyer as saying.
The maid could go to jail for a time period between five and 20 years for the offence of robbery with grievous hurt and a deadly weapon. The offence also carries at least 12 strokes of the cane, which cannot be meted out to the helper. /TISG
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