The woman, a 42-year-old Myanmar national, was sentenced to 20 months’ jail after pleading guilty to one count of criminal breach of trust and one count of theft, according to a report by AsiaOneciting Chinese publication Shin Min Daily News.

Starting from May 2024, she was entrusted with her 75-year-old employer’s ATM card and personal identification number.

She had been authorized to withdraw SGD2,000 each month for groceries and daily necessities, and to help withdraw additional funds whenever the employer needed to travel.

Later that year, the employer also granted her a SGD10,000 salary advance. At the time, she was earning about SGD700-800 a month.

However, between December 2024 and July 2025, the helper made 43 unauthorized withdrawals, totaling SGD86,000.

To conceal her actions, she carried out the withdrawals while the employer was asleep and used the employer’s mobile phone to delete bank notifications alerting her to the transactions.

On one occasion when she failed to delete a notification and was confronted, she promised not to repeat the offense, but subsequently went back on her word.

The court also heard that between January and June 2025, the defendant stole seven pieces of gold jewelry worth SGD20,300 from her employer and pawned them for cash.

She knew the jewelry was kept in an unlocked drawer and was rarely worn. To avoid suspicion, she took only one item at a time.

A friend of the employer later uncovered the unauthorized withdrawals and realized the helper was missing. Fearing she might flee, the friend alerted the police on July 11.

When the friend arrived at the employer’s home that day, she found the maid at the lift landing with her luggage and passport.

During investigations, the helper confessed that she had a gambling addiction and committed the offenses to fund her habit.

She added that not all the stolen money had been gambled away, and that some had been sent to her family.