Househelp Jailed After Stealing KSh 24m From Elderly Employer's Dad

• A domestic helper, Siti Nuryanti, has been handed a jail sentence of two years and four months for her involvement in embezzling KSh 24 million from her employer's dad
• Although her primary role revolved around caring for her employer's children, she occasionally assisted in attending to her employer's elderly father
• The court's ruling on August 24, 2023, shed light on the intricate theft, revealing the 41-year-old's motive to settle debts

A 41-year-old domestic helper was sentenced to two years and four months in jail for stealing a staggering S$169,520 (24,580,400) from her employer's 94-year-old father's bank account.

How was the theft discovered?

The accused, Siti Nuryanti, an Indonesian national, also pilfered S$100 (KSh 14,500) in cash from her employer. The district court handed down the sentence on August 24, 2023.

Siti was charged with one count of theft as a servant, with two additional charges taken into consideration during her sentencing.

Singaporean media, Mothership, reported she had been employed by a 57-year-old man.

While her primary role was caring for her employer's children, she occasionally assisted in looking after her employer's elderly father.

The theft came to light when it was discovered that large sums of money had disappeared from the 94-year-old's bank account in April 2023.

Help obtained ATM card PIN

Subsequent investigations revealed that between July 2022 and April 2023, Siti had made a total of 197 unauthorised withdrawals from the elderly man's bank account.

She's reported to have used the elderly man's ATM card, which she had secretly obtained his PIN during a visit to an ATM in 2022.

Siti admitted during her trial that she had utilized the stolen funds to repay debts owed to unlicensed moneylenders.

She confessed to remitting the money to pay off her debtors in Indonesia. The exact reasons behind her accumulation of debt were not revealed.

Curiously, the victim's family seemed to have been unaware of the theft until after the police report was made.

Loan sharks harass family

A source from the family, who chose to remain anonymous, disclosed that the family had been facing harassment from loan sharks since May 2023.

The source also revealed that the domestic worker, Siti, had exhibited lavish spending habits, purchasing new clothes and even getting manicures.

The employer, oblivious to her criminal activities, had advised her to save money for her family due to her apparent profligate behaviour.

Despite the betrayal, the employer reportedly forgave Siti due to his religious beliefs.

He expressed hope that she would be able to reunite with her family and take on the responsibility of caring for her children.

CCTV catches househelp 'colluding' with thieves

In a separate report, A domestic worker in Durban, South Africa, faced the music for allegedly helping a pair of thieves rob her employer's home in Marianhill Park.

The 33-year-old opened a case of robbery and reported that she was hanging clothes on the clothing line when she heard a noise inside the house.

She claimed that she saw a man carrying a TV and that the other criminal broke the driveway gate.

The domestic worker added that the robbers fled her employer's house in a silver car, The Citizen reported.