Indonesian maid sentenced to 7 months' jail after stealing $16k from 89-year-old employer

On Friday (Aug 11), an Indonesian maid was sentenced to seven months in jail for stealing a total of $16,000 from her 89-year-old employer.

Tri Andriyani, 39, was hired to take care of the man's bedridden wife in a flat in Queenstown after the latter had a stroke.

The crime was committed over a span of three months, from Feb 6 to May 9, during which the maid stole the elderly man's ATM card and withdrew $1,000 each time, reported Shin Min Daily News.

More than half of the stolen money was sent back to the maid's family in Indonesia while the rest was spent on personal use.

Andriyani was aware that the ATM card was kept in a drawer in the wife's room and would frequently check if the drawer was unlocked. The man would also sometimes leave the key to the drawer beside his massage chair.

Afraid that he would forget the PIN to his ATM card, the man wrote it down on a piece of paper that was left in his wallet along with the card.

On May 15, the man realised there were multiple transactions in his bank account that were not made by him. 

After alerting his son about the unusual activity, they went to the bank to cancel the ATM card before filing a police report.

The maid was arrested on May 26 and received a seven-month jail sentence on Aug 11.

It was the first time the man had hired a maid, reported Shin Min.

Since the incident, the man has employed another maid and also installed a CCTV camera in his home, in hopes of preventing similar cases in the future.

ALSO READ: 'She's a good person': Employer forgives helper who borrowed over $3,000 from 9 loan sharks

crystal.tan@asiaone.com