Foreign domestic worker, 43, steals elderly employer's bank card to withdraw S$24,500, gets 5 months' jail

A 43-year-old foreign domestic worker was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment after stealing her elderly employer’s bank card and making repeated unauthorised withdrawals totalling more than S$24,000.

Suratmi, an Indonesian national, had been working for her 83-year-old employer at an HDB flat in Woodlands.

She faced a total of three charges of theft.

The prosecution proceeded with one charge, while the remaining charges were taken into consideration during sentencing, Shin Min Daily News (Shin Min) reported on Mar. 9.

Suratmi was sentenced in court on Mar. 6.

The case

Citing court documents, Shin Min reported that Suratmi was hired in 2020 to care for the elderly woman, who was in poor health.

The two shared a bedroom.

In April 2024, Suratmi learned that her employer kept her bank card in a handbag in their bedroom.

Her employer had previously instructed Suratmi to write down her bank card's personal identification number (PIN) on a piece of paper and keep it together with the card, as she was worried she might forget it.

Knowing the PIN, Suratmi later stole the card and withdrew S$1,000 from a nearby ATM before returning it.

Her act went unnoticed, which emboldened Suratmi to continue taking the card to make further withdrawals.

Charge sheets seen by Mothership showed that between April and December 2024, Suratmi withdrew a total of S$24,500 on 25 separate occasions using her employer's card.

In December 2024, the employer dismissed Suratmi after becoming dissatisfied with her work and sent her back to Indonesia.

The employer later moved in with her daughter.

On Feb. 17, 2025, the daughter discovered the multiple unauthorised withdrawals while helping her mother withdraw money and reported the matter to the police.

Arrested

According to Shin Min, Suratmi was arrested at Changi Airport on Feb. 3 upon returning to Singapore.

Investigations found that she had transferred part of the stolen money to her family in Indonesia and spent the rest on personal expenses.

To date, no restitution has been made.

In court, the prosecution said the case involved a significant sum of money and noted that Suratmi had been entrusted to care for the elderly employer but instead stole from her, urging the court to impose a custodial sentence.

Top photos from Unsplash and Mothership