A 25-year-old domestic helper from Myanmar has been sentenced to nine months in prison for stealing more than S$10,000 from her wheelchair-bound employer in Singapore.
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The domestic helper, Yin MiaoMiaoai (name transliterated), began working for 68-year-old Ms Liu on 4 Oct 2023.
Ms Liu, who had suffered a stroke, relied on Yin to help with daily tasks and house chores. Yin was the second domestic helper Ms Liu had employed and was paid S$550 a month.
As Ms Liu relied on Yin for many tasks, she would sometimes also ask the helper to withdraw cash for her when her nephew was unavailable to assist her.
This was how Yin was able to obtain Ms Liu’s ATM PIN.
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On 10 Nov 2024, Ms Liu’s nephew noticed unusual withdrawals from her account. He discovered that Yin had made multiple unauthorised transactions.
Police investigations revealed that between 26 April and 30 Oct 2024, Yin withdrew money 19 times, ranging from S$100 to S$500 each time, depositing it into her own account.
In total, she stole S$10,310, which she reportedly spent on clothes and cosmetics.
Ms Liu’s nephew told Shin Min that Yin was under a two-year contract, but requested to end the contract early, though she did not specify why.
Ms Liu said Yin often used her phone while working and did not take her job seriously.
She even often had to cook for the two of them as the helper was “not good at cooking”.
Yin pleaded guilty to one charge of theft and asked the judge for leniency. She was sentenced to nine months in prison.
No compensation has been made to the victim.
Also read: Helper steals S$4.4K in cash & jewellery from employer’s unlocked safe, sends money to family
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Featured image adapted from Getty Images on Unsplash and MustShareNews.