Maid in S'pore uses elderly employer's debit card to steal S$86,000 to fund gambling addiction

A helper in Singapore with a gambling addiction seized opportunities when her 75-year-old employer was sleeping to steal his money and gold jewellery.

Using the employer's debit card, she withdrew S$2,000 at an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) on 43 occasions between December 2024 and July 2025, totalling S$86,000.

Between January and June 2025, she also took jewellery worth S$20,368 to pawn them for money.

The helper, a 42-year-old Myanmar national named Zaw Zaw Min (transliteration), faced charges of one count of criminal breach of trust and one count of theft.

She was sentenced in court to a year and eight months in prison, Shin Min Daily News reported on Jan. 17.

Had access to employer's bank account

Zaw Zaw Min's employer appeared to have placed a lot of trust in her to handle financial matters.

Since May 2024, she had held on to her employer's sole debit card, according to court documents cited by Shin Min.

The employer had given her the card and told her the PIN number, instructing her to withdraw S$2,000 to buy groceries every month.

When the employer wanted to go to Johor, he would also ask her to help him withdraw money.

As for the jewellery, investigations revealed that Zaw Zaw Min knew her employer kept gold jewellery unlocked in a drawer, and rarely wore it.

She would take one piece of jewellery each time so that the employer would not notice.

At the time of the thefts, she received a monthly salary of around S$700 to S$800.

Sometime in 2024, her employer agreed to pay her an advance of S$10,000.

How she got caught

To avoid getting caught, Zaw Zaw Min would sneak out of the house when her employer was asleep, and afterwards, delete the bank's notifications about the withdrawals on her employer's phone.

One time, however, she did not manage to delete a notification message in time.

When her employer questioned her, she said she would not steal again, but broke this promise.

Eventually, a friend of the employer's learnt about the thefts.

On Jul. 11, 2025, this friend called the police, then ran to the employer's house, where they saw Zaw Zaw Min with her passport and luggage at the lift lobby.

When the police arrived, they found S$2,000 cash on her, which she admitted that she had taken from her employer.

Expressed remorse

During investigations, Zaw Zaw Min expressed remorse for her actions, and wanted to apologise to her employer, Shin Min reported.

She admitted that she had a gambling addiction, and as a result, could not control herself from stealing again and again to support her habit.

She added that she did not gamble all the money she took, and gave some of it to her family.

Top images from OCBC and Canva