DUBAI // A nanny who stole items worth more than Dh200,000 from her American employers over a period of four years and shipped them back to her home country has been jailed for three years.
Housewife KH, 40, said she found out about Filipina JP, 33, stealing via a text message from her maid on September 14 last year that said she had discovered some missing items hidden in a wardrobe.
“She said the items included children’s clothes, toys and kitchen appliances — she even took pictures of them and sent it to me on WhatsApp,” said the American at Dubai Criminal Court. “She denied it at first then confessed she had been shipping all the stuff she stole to her country and gave them away to the poor.”
The sponsor cancelled the nanny’s visa and sent her home using the same labour office that recruited her.
However, she later discovered that several other items were missing, include a painting worth Dh200,000.
“I also found that some jewellery was missing, a hand bag, accessories, clothes, travel bag, a golden button for my husband, some clothes, gem stones as well as baby clothes, sheets, rugs and towels. The total value of these items is Dh213,234,” said the housewife.
Investigations found that the nanny had been taking the items from the villa with the help of her sister and boyfriend when the sponsors were not home, sometimes even covering surveillance cameras to aid their deception.
Records show that the defendant’s sister and boyfriend were arrested and referred to the Court of Misdemeanours, where they both denied knowing the items they had been given to ship to the Philippines were stolen.
Driver FS, 44, from India, testified that he had seen a vehicle from a shipping company come to the villa on several occasions when KH was not around. “It was nearly 3am when I once saw JP, her sister and a man loading stuff into that vehicle,” he said.
“When I asked her she said the sponsor knew about this so I returned inside the villa but noticed the cameras covered. When the sponsors came I told them and, on that same day, the robbery was discovered.”
The defendant will be deported after serving her jail term.
salamir@thenational.ae
