SINGAPORE – A maid who stole from her employer continued her thieving ways in a shelter where she stayed after her boss alerted the police about the helper’s earlier theft.

Jennifer Lamboson stole $2,300 worth of jewellery from her roommate in the shelter run by social service agency Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Social Support and Training (Fast) in Chin Cheng Avenue near Still Road.

The 32-year-old Filipina was sentenced to 13 weeks’ jail on Thursday after she pleaded guilty to two theft charges.

State Prosecuting Officer (SPO) Lim Yeow Leong said Lamboson started working for a 46-year-old woman in February 2020 and her tasks included taking care of the employer’s daughter.

Facing financial difficulties, Lamboson stole from her employer $550 worth of jewellery, including a gold ring and pendant, in February 2022. She pawned the items at various pawnshops.

Her employer noticed that some of her valuables were missing seven months later and confronted Lamboson, who denied taking them.

The employer alerted the police on Oct 11, 2022, after she received a text message from a licensed moneylending firm, asking if Lamboson was working for her. It was not stated why the firm contacted the employer.

Lamboson came clean about what she had done in a police interview on Jan 9, 2023. Officers managed to recover the ring at a pawnshop, said SPO Lim.

Court documents did not disclose what happened next but Lamboson was staying at the Fast shelter when she reoffended.

She was helping her 47-year-old roommate to make a bed at around 7pm on July 18, 2023, when she chanced upon the older Filipina’s valuables in a bag and stole them. They included two rings and a necklace.

The roommate found them missing three hours later.

Lamboson, who did not have her work permit and passport with her, met a 50-year-old domestic helper on July 20. She asked the woman to help her pawn the valuables, claiming that they belonged to her.

The unsuspecting woman pawned most of the items at two pawnshops in Bishan.

On July 24, the roommate lodged a police report and Lamboson admitted stealing the jewellery when officers interviewed her the next day.

Lamboson was arrested and the authorities later recovered all the roommate’s valuables from the pawnshops and the 50-year-old woman.

In August this year, The Straits Times reported on other cases involving maids who committed theft.

On Aug 25, Alpiah, who goes by only one name, was sentenced to 20 months’ jail after she pleaded guilty to three theft charges.

The Indonesian stole more than $42,000 worth of cash and valuables from her employer in 2022 and 2023.

Separately, another Indonesian, Nuryanti, 41, who helped to take care of a 94-year-old man, stole more than $160,000 from him.

On Aug 24, she was sentenced to two years and four months’ jail after pleading guilty to stealing $48,400.

She used the man’s bank card to make 50 withdrawals from automated teller machines between January and April.

Two other charges relating to the remaining amount were taken into consideration during sentencing.