Latha Narayanan, 59-years-old, was fined $4,000 on 13 June after pleading guilty to theft and cheating, with another 2 other similar charges being considered for her sentencing.
She had stolen an ATM card from an elderly resident at a nursing home where she worked and used it to withdraw $1,000 in cash; she also used the card to buy food and toiletries.
What happened?
Latha was working as a health assistant at Woodlands Care Home in 2019 and was assigned to take care of a 65-year-old man, who has since died in 2021.
Sometime in 2019, the victim forgot his ATM card’s PIN number and Latha then accompanied the man to the bank to get a new PIN code after a visit to the hospital.
The victim then got his new code in the presence of Latha, and he then put his ATM card inside his phone cover, before handing it over to Latha for safekeeping.
Latha then used the card on 21 November 2021 to withdraw $1,000 in cash, stealing the man’s money.
Then on 25 November that same month, she used the man’s card to buy $73 worth of food and toiletries at a Woodlands supermarket.
The victim then reported to the police on 27 November that his ATM card was lost and unauthorised withdrawals were made from his bank account, and the offences then came to light.
Latha was also previously fined $600 for an unrelated offence of property related theft in 2017.