(Singapore, 18th) — A Myanmar maid working in Singapore developed a gambling addiction, and to raise gambling funds, she waited until her 75-year-old employer was asleep to withdraw a total of $86,000 (about RM270,000) from his savings over eight months. She also stole gold jewelry to pawn for cash, and was sentenced to 20 months in jail.
According to a report by Shin Min Daily News on the 17th, the defendant, Zaw Zaw Min (42), faced one count of criminal breach of trust and one count of theft. At the time of the offense, she was working as a maid locally, earning a monthly salary of seven to eight hundred dollars.
The case details show that in May 2024, her 75-year-old employer handed his only ATM card to the defendant and informed her of the card’s PIN.
The employer instructed the defendant that she was allowed to use the card to withdraw $2,000 per month for food expenses. If the employer needed to go to Johor Bahru, she would also ask the defendant to help withdraw money.
In 2024, the employer agreed to let the defendant have an advance of $10,000 on her salary. Unexpectedly, the defendant abused her employer’s trust and, between December 2024 and July 2025, made 43 unauthorized withdrawals totaling $86,000 from the employer’s savings, taking $2,000 each time.
To prevent her crimes from being discovered, the defendant would sneak out while her employer was asleep, then delete the bank withdrawal notification SMS from the employer’s phone.
On one occasion, the defendant failed to delete the SMS in time, and the employer discovered the unauthorized withdrawals. When confronted, the defendant promised not to reoffend but did not keep her word.
Additionally, between January and June 2025, while her employer was asleep, the defendant stole seven pieces of gold jewelry valued at about $20,000 in total, pawning them for cash.
Investigations revealed that the defendant knew the employer kept the jewelry in a drawer, which the employer never locked. The defendant noticed her employer seldom wore the jewelry, so she would only steal one piece at a time to avoid arousing suspicion.
During the investigation, the defendant admitted to being addicted to gambling and said her crimes were motivated by her need for gambling funds.
The defendant did not hire a defense lawyer. Through an interpreter, she pleaded for leniency, expressing remorse for her actions and a desire to apologize to her employer. She said she could not control herself due to her gambling addiction, which led to repeated thefts.
The defendant said that not all of the stolen money was used for gambling—she also remitted part of the proceeds to her family.