An Indonesian foreign domestic worker was sentenced to four weeks' jail after she was found guilty for stealing from her employers during the circuit breaker period.
Rina Tilaar, 46, was found with cash amounting to S$1,203.95 inside a Braun Buffel coin pouch before her employers reported her to the police.
Multiple incidents
Multiple incidents happened between March and May 2020.
On Mar. 10, the wife of the employer discovered that a cardholder with S$52 and an EZ-link card with a stored value of S$20 were missing.
Between mid-April and May 2020, her employer had noticed a total of about S$300 had gone missing from his wallet.
On four occasions in April, the employer's wife also discovered cash — amounting to S$200 in total — missing from her wallet in her handbag, which she had placed in her bedroom.
After these incidents, his wife started to regularly count the money she placed in her wallet.
On May. 16, she placed a total of S$164 in her wallet and left it in her handbag for a few days. She discovered that S$20 had gone missing from her wallet in May. 19.
On May. 21, while Rina was out for a walk with the employer's mother, the employer and his wife checked her belongings and found the money and the coin pouch in her belongings.
Much more than she initially had
At the start of her employment on Jan. 28, Rina signed a declaration form declaring that she had S$17.70 and IDR2000 (approximately S$0.20) in her possession.
Her employers also directly remitted her monthly salary into her Indonesian bank account.
Her employers decided to call the police when they found the the money in her belongings, which amounted to significantly more than what she originally declared to have in her possession.
Upon the arrival of the police, Rina admitted to have stolen the cash and belongings from her employers.
Four weeks jail
According to CNA, Rina pleaded guilty to two counts of theft as a servant and one charge of theft. She was sentenced to four weeks' jail.
When asked if she admitted to the acts, Rina originally sobbed and said that she did not do some of them, and claimed that her employer treated her "like [an] animal".
According to CNA, Rina withdrew allegations of abuse such as dropping porridge on her and poking her with chopsticks, after the judge told her that he had to reject her plea as she did not admit to the acts.
She then apologised to the family, promised to not "repeat her foolishness" and said she wanted to work for her family.
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Top image from Unsplash.