Be careful when leaving your valuables around, even in your own home. Don’t be surprised that sometimes, the people closest(literally) to you might do you more harm than good.
The Stealing Spree
A foreign domestic worker was caught stealing valuables from her employers worth over S$110,000, including pawning a Patek Philippe watch worth over S$60,000 for S$6,000 (ouch).
According to Shin Min Daily, the 40-year-old Indonesian defendant “Maya” had previously consented to her friend using her work permit to borrow money from loan sharks.
Top 10 worst ideas ever.
The friend, however, left for Indonesia without paying back the borrowed loan, resulting in loan sharks harassing “Maya” for payment.
Some kind of “friend”, huh?
Scrapped for cash, the defendant devised a plan to rob her German employer and his wife of their belongings in order to pay back the loan.
Stolen Items
Beginning on 11 September of last year, the defendant started committing her theft spree at the employer’s home at Bukit Timah’s King Albert Park and continued doing so until 12 March of this year.
The defendant was ultimately caught when the employer noticed that the Patek Philippe watch he left next to the sink was gone. A police report was made, and the defendant admitted to the theft after being questioned by her employer.
In total, S$117,128 worth of jewellery and watches were stolen, with the Patek Philippe watch being the most expensive, at S$63,840.
Other expensive valuables include an Omega watch worth S$10,000, a Rolex watch worth S$20,000, a gold ring worth S$4758 and a pair of earrings worth S$5,400.
For her crimes, the defendant was charged with ten counts of theft and one offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking, and Serious Crimes Act. She was sentenced to a jail term of 21 months and 1 week.
Besides valuables, make sure that your card is safeguarded too. If possible, keep your PIN number to yourself.
Just last December, an elderly was robbed of up to S$12,000 from her domestic helper. Besides valuables, the elderly had entrusted the helper with the password to the safe that she kept at home, as well as her bank account details.
The trust was abused when the helper secretly withdrew money from her employer’s bank account and stole the valuables locked away in the safe.
So yeah, please be highly careful and attentive to where you safeguard your valuables and who you trust with your financial details, even in your own home.