A domestic helper who worked for a German couple in Singapore was sentenced to 21 months and one week in jail after getting caught stealing her employer’s watch and jewellery.
Maya Amara Putri, 40, had done so to repay a debt she’d inherited from a friend.
She had allowed her friend to use her work permit to borrow money from moneylenders.
After her friend went back to Indonesia without repaying the debt, loan sharks targeted Maya instead.
The single mother then resorted to stealing the items so she could pawn them off and repay the loans.
Maya, who has two children and a sick mother back in Indonesia, was employed by a German couple living in the Bukit Timah area.
She would pawn her own jewellery and remit the money home whenever her children needed it.
According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), Maya’s friend used her work permit to borrow money from a moneylender in 2022.
Unfortunately, this friend later returned to Indonesia without paying off the debt. This led to the moneylenders harassing Maya for the money instead.
CNA reported that Maya stole from her employers in order to repay the debt.
One day back in March, she spotted her employer’s Patek Philippe watch — apparently worth S$63,840 — in the master bedroom toilet and took it to pawn off.
She received S$6,000 for the luxury timepiece.
Source: Diniy Salleh on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only
Maya’s employer soon noticed that the watch had gone missing and asked her and another helper if they knew anything about it.
She then confessed to her theft, following which, her employer called the police.
Besides the Patek Philippe watch, the helper also stole the following items from her employers:
It is not stated how many of them she pawned off.
With the proceeds from pawning the items, she made bank transfers to the loan sharks and sent S$204 back to her son in Indonesia.
The police have since recovered and seized the items, and Maya’s employers had to pay S$6,800 to the pawn shops to get their belongings back.
On Tuesday (16 May), a judge sentenced Maya to 21 months and one week’s jail.
She pleaded guilty to four charges. This included theft by servant, as well as transferring criminal proceeds out of the country.
Another seven charges were taken into consideration.
The prosecution had argued for a jail term of between 21 months and one week to 24 months and two weeks.
In mitigation, Maya said that she was remorseful and asked for a lighter sentence.
The judge eventually backdated her jail term to when she was first remanded, noting that the prosecutors had asked for a fair term.
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Featured image by MS News.
"To me, bamboo bee plum means plum shaped like bamboo bees", said the customer.
The passenger claimed they were treated like criminals over a tuna sandwich.
The boy is an only child to the single mum.
Authorities had to use equipment to pry the vehicle open to free the man.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
He crossed the border daily in hopes of buying a house for his family.