S'porean woman, 35, catches Helpling cleaner stealing money with 'CCTV trap' & planted S$50 notes

A Singaporean woman suspected that her part-time cleaner, whom she hired from home cleaning service Helpling, was stealing her money.

To catch her in the act, the woman set up a trap involving a CCTV and marked S$50 notes.

She eventually caught the cleaner red-handed.

The accused pleaded guilty to one count of theft on Jun. 15 and was sentenced to two weeks in jail.

Incident

30-year-old Nant Aye Thandar Soe, a Myanmar national, had been working part-time at the woman's house at Bedok South Avenue 3 since September 2025, according to Shin Min Daily News.

She was contracted under Helpling, a service which assigns part-time cleaners to customers' homes.

Nant Aye Thandar Soe reportedly cleaned the home every Thursday and was allowed to enter every room in the house.

Trap

On May 27, the woman discovered that some cash was missing from her bag and suspected that Nant Aye Thandar Soe had taken it. 

The next day, on May 28, she installed a CCTV camera in her home and copied down the serial numbers of 20 S$50 bills.

She then placed the cash into her wallet in her bag, and left the bag in the corner of a room.

Theft

When Nant Aye Thandar Soe arrived at the house at about 6:30pm for her shift, she noticed the bag was open and took the wallet from it.

She then pocketed three of the S$50 bills before continuing with her tasks.

At about 8pm, the woman checked her bag and noticed the missing bills.

She questioned Nant Aye Thandar Soe, who admitted to her actions by revealing four S$50 bills from her pocket.

Three were stolen from the woman, while the fourth belonged to her.

The woman then called the police.

Sentencing

In court, Nant Aye Thandar Soe pleaded guilty to her crimes via video link, but asked for a lighter sentence so as to return home sooner.

On account of her clean prior criminal record, she was handed two weeks in jail.

However, she was terminated and permanently banned from Helpling, a spokesperson at the platform said.

According to Shin Min, the spokesperson added that all service providers undergo rigorous background checks and pre-job training before being allowed to join the platform.

Helpling places great importance on user safety and privacy and is currently looking to strengthen review measures, the company said.

The woman told Shin Min that she was disappointed by Helpling's handling of the situation and would no longer use its services.