SINGAPORE: A maid served the family she was working for rice and water mixed with some of her urine, saliva and menstrual blood, hoping that they would agree with her and not scold her for her work performance.

She also stole a total of S$13,300 from her employer's safe between August 2017 and June 2018.



30-year-old Indonesian national Diana, who goes by only one name, was on Monday (Jan 13) sentenced to six months and seven weeks in jail.

She pleaded to two counts of mischief and one count of theft, with a fourth charge taken into consideration.

The court heard that the maid began work in the household - comprising a family of six across three generations - in 2017.

Sometime in August 2019, she mixed some of her urine, saliva and menstrual blood into the water in the kettle, knowing that the family would drink it. They did.



She believed that by doing this, "the family would come to agree with whatever the accused did and would not scold her for her work performance", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Angela Ang.

She also mixed the bodily fluids into some rice she cooked for the family. They ate that as well.

The maid had stolen from her elderly employer about a year before.

Her employer received a monthly allowance of S$3,300 from her husband and her three daughters, which she kept in a safe secured with a numerical lock inside her bedroom.

As she had been to the bedroom while cleaning, the maid knew where the safe was.

She watched as her employer keyed in a passcode to unlock her iPad. The maid then tried the same passcode to unlock the safe. She was successful.

She stole cash from the safe on five occasions and had a woman help her remit the cash home to Indonesia.

The maid later confessed to her actions and the family made a police report in October 2019.

ACCUSED APOLOGISES TO EMPLOYERS

The prosecutor noted that more than one type of bodily fluid had been placed in the rice and water, which were meant to be consumed by the family, and that the offences "could have gone undetected for a period of time".

The maid, who was unrepresented, told the court through an interpreter that she admitted to her wrongdoing and said she was a divorcee.

"I only have one child and my mother is ill and aged," she said. "I am the breadwinner. I am staying in remand for two months and I cannot work."

She added that she had not committed any crime in Indonesia and apologised to her employers "from the bottom of my heart".

She said she had stolen the money as her family was in "some distress" in Indonesia.

For theft in dwelling, she could have been jailed up to seven years and fined.

For each charge of mischief, she could have been jailed up to a year, fined or both.