After memorising the personal identification number (PIN) of an older man for whom she was hired to look after, a domestic worker proceeded to withdraw S$162,000 from his bank account.

On Thursday (Aug 24), Siti Nuryanti, a 41-year-old Indonesian, was sentenced to 28 months' jail for one charge of theft of S$48,400.

Another two similar charges for the theft of the rest of the money were taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jason Chua said that Nuryanti had stolen the money to repay her debts to unlicensed moneylenders and to pay debtors in Indonesia.

As a domestic worker, Nuryanti's main duties were to help care for the household’s three children and do housework.

Another domestic worker was employed to take care of 94-year-old Palliathu Samuel Chacko, but Nuryanti would occasionally help out in the caregiving work.

Sometime last year, she accompanied Mr Chacko to an automated teller machine (ATM), where she learned the PIN number to access his POSB bank account.

Knowing that he kept his ATM card in his wallet in his room, Nuryanti would take his card several times to use at various ATMs in Singapore.

She made 50 withdrawals between January and April this year, stealing S$48,400.

On April 18, Mr Chacko’s son discovered that money had been withdrawn from the older man's bank account. He then made a police report.

'SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT STOLEN' FROM VULNERABLE VICTIM

DPP Chua called for a sentence of between two and two-and-a-half years' jail for Nuryanti.

He noted that the total amount stolen was a "significant amount" and over an extended period.

“The victim is also a vulnerable elderly man who is 94 years old,” he added.

Nuryanti also had not made any restitution to Mr Chacko.

Pleading for leniency, she apologised for stealing from him and added that she has a six-year-old child and a sick mother to care for back home.

“My sick mother suffers from high blood pressure and (had a) heart attack. I’m the sole breadwinner,” she said in Bahasa Indonesia.

District Judge Kenneth Chin said that Nuryanti’s circumstances are "not exceptional" and that she had taken a large amount from an older victim.

After sentencing Nuryanti to 28 months' jail, District Judge Chin said: “It is the hope of this court that you will learn your lesson and stay away from crime after your release.”

Her sentence was backdated to July 18, the date of her arrest.

For each count of theft from an employer, she could have been jailed for up to seven years and be liable to a fine.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by Today Online

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