Indonesian maid stole S$32,000 in jewellery, covered CCTV camera to hide theft

SINGAPORE: A maid stole jewellery amounting to over $32,000 from her employer and decided to cover the CCTV camera with a cloth to hide the crime. 

The 34-year-old Indonesian suspect now faces three charges of theft and one charge of providing false information to a public official. She pleaded guilty to one of the theft charges and was sentenced to 36 weeks in jail. 

Case details revealed that the employer was a 61-year-old woman, and the suspect began working for her in January 2024. The suspect learned that the employer would keep her jewellery in an unlocked drawer located under the television in the bedroom, and when she faced financial difficulties in October 2024, she committed the crime of stealing the jewellery. 

Investigations stated that while her employer was at work, the suspect entered the employer’s room and stole three diamond-encrusted gold bracelets worth a total of S$23,638. Furthermore, the maid hid the bracelets under the carpet in the second-floor bathroom and in a drawer. When the suspect pawned the stolen pieces, the total amount accumulated was S$1,930.

The employer discovered her bracelets were missing and questioned the maid, who said they might have been misplaced.

The employer then installed CCTV in her room and later on discovered that her maid had covered the camera lens with a cloth. When the employer questioned the maid again about the act, she admitted that she had stolen the bracelet.

The defendant admitted to stealing other jewellery worth S$8,700. The authorities recovered all the stolen jewellery and used it as evidence for the case. 

Furthermore, when the maid was arrested, she tried to conceal the crime and provided false information to the authorities. 

In similar news, there was also a report last year that an Indonesian maid decided to steal from an 81-year-old employer’s debit card and tricked the victim into giving the password to access it. 

When the maid was finally able to withdraw money, it was discovered that 22 transactions were made in two months, totalling more than S$7,000. 

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