A foreign domestic worker in Singapore has been sentenced to four weeks in jail after stealing S$677 from her elderly employers and transferring most of the money to her boyfriend in Indonesia.
Depi Lestari, 41, pleaded guilty to one charge of theft on Aug. 25, 2026. Her sentence was backdated to the date of her arrest.
The case involved a couple in their 70s who employed Lestari as a domestic helper. According to reports, Lestari took the cash while her employers were asleep before leaving their home with her belongings.
Helper took cash from employer’s wallet
According to Shin Min Daily News, The theft took place at around 7am on July 8. While the elderly couple were still sleeping, Lestari allegedly unlocked her male employer’s briefcase and retrieved his wallet.
She then removed S$677 in cash from the wallet.
Before leaving the property, Lestari also took the couple’s identity documents. Her female employer discovered that both the cash and helper were missing when she woke up at around 8:30am.
The employer subsequently contacted the police to report the incident.
Investigations later found that Lestari had exchanged S$654 of the stolen cash into Indonesian rupiah at City Plaza at around 9:35am. She then transferred the equivalent amount to her boyfriend’s bank account in Indonesia.
The remaining cash was spent by Lestari herself.
Boyfriend allegedly failed to meet her
Lestari later went to Changi Airport after her boyfriend allegedly instructed her to wait for him there.
She had apparently been told that he would meet her at the airport and return the money to her. However, the boyfriend did not turn up, leaving Lestari waiting there for several days.
After failing to meet him, she was allegedly instructed to travel to Batam by ferry before continuing to Jakarta, where they would meet.
On July 12, Lestari travelled to HarbourFront Centre in an attempt to take a ferry to Batam.
Police arrested her there before she could leave Singapore.
Court hears of financial pressure
During court proceedings, Lestari said she had been struggling financially when she decided to take the money.
She also claimed that she had been under severe pressure from her boyfriend, who was in Indonesia.
Lestari expressed remorse for stealing from her employers and asked the court for leniency. However, the judge noted that her actions represented a breach of the trust placed in her as a domestic worker.
The court also noted that Lestari had not made any restitution for the stolen money at the time of sentencing.
She was ultimately sentenced to four weeks in jail, with the imprisonment term backdated to July 12, the day she was arrested at HarbourFront Centre.
The case highlights the potential legal consequences of theft in Singapore, even when the amount involved is relatively modest. Foreign domestic workers and other employees found guilty of misappropriating money belonging to their employers may also face consequences affecting their employment and immigration status, depending on the circumstances of the case.