Maid gets three months for stealing from employer

A maid was sentenced to three months in prison for stealing Dh83,651 worth of valuables and cash from her employer.

DUBAI // A maid was sentenced today to three months in prison followed by deportation for stealing Dh83,651 worth of valuables and cash from her employer.

The Filipina AM, 27, denied the charge and told the presiding judge at the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance that she only took a BlackBerry smartphone.

However, the court found that on the night of February 24, AM waited for her employer to fall asleep, then stole Dh9,570 and US$2,400 (Dh8,814). She also took two women's hand bags, two mobile phones and gold valuables worth Dh65,267, the court determined.

Her employer told prosecutors that the maid started working for him two months before the incident, that he sponsored her visa, and that he had no problems with her from the time she started working for him until the incident.

He said in his testimony that when he woke up, he called her but she did not respond. He looked for her but didn't find her at his flat in Jebel Ali, and waited for her to come back, expecting that she may have gone to the grocery store.

He added that while he was waiting, he noticed that the cash from his wallet was missing. When he grew suspicious and checked the household, he found many valuable items and cash missing, and called the police.