Domestic helper jailed for $210k theft

Helper arrested after CCTV camera catches theft

In November 2025, her employer noticed cash missing from the safe, but initially assumed she had misplaced it.

On May 27, 2026, she installed a motion-activated surveillance camera in her bedroom.

Just two days later, she received a motion alert on her phone and checked the footage, which reportedly showed Raguindin opening the safe and retrieving valuables.

She immediately called the police, and Raguindin was arrested in the early hours of the following day.

Investigations found that Raguindin had stolen cash and jewellery worth more than $210,000 in total. None of the stolen items has been recovered, and no restitution has been made.

Employer says helper earned above-market salary but still borrowed from loan sharks

The employer, who declined to be named, told reporters outside the courtroom that Raguindin earned a monthly salary of $1,200, which she described as higher than the market rate.

She added that her husband also gave Raguindin a “red packet” containing $2,000 every year.

However, after Raguindin’s arrest, other domestic helpers and debt collectors turned up at the house claiming she had borrowed sums ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

The employer also showed reporters messages allegedly sent by loan sharks, including photographs of her home’s unit number.

“She was greedy. After she was arrested, she even told the police that we had underpaid her salary. That was truly heartbreaking,” she said.

‘We treated her like family’: Employer shaken by theft

The employer said the family had always treated Raguindin like one of their own, and would celebrate her birthday and pay for her flights to the Philippines.

At the end of 2025, they also paid to bring her husband and two children to Singapore for a holiday.

She said many of the stolen jewellery pieces remain in the Philippines and that she hopes to negotiate with Raguindin’s family to recover them.

“Some of the jewellery are not only valuable, but deeply sentimental. Some pieces were gifts from my mother-in-law when my husband and I got married.”

Fighting back tears, she said Raguindin had never apologised or offered any compensation.

Helper says she has nothing left

When the employer applied for compensation in court, Raguidin kept her head down throughout the proceedings.

She pleaded with the court not to implicate her family and said she hoped to return home soon to reunite with her mother.

When asked how much money she currently had, she replied that she had nothing.

The prosecution said it would not seek a compensation order but would consider applying for a confiscation order — which would require her to pay a monetary sum equivalent to the amount she stole — to help the victim.

The judge noted that the employer could also pursue the losses through a civil lawsuit.

The employer disputed any suggestion that the helper stole out of financial hardship, saying the stolen money had been spent on luxury purchases.

She added that one of Raguidin’s sisters had told her that the accused had not been sending money home to support their mother.

At one point during the hearing, the employer shouted at the helper, who was appearing via videolink: “Shame on you, Alma!” before returning to her seat.

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