The woman pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal breach of trust and cheating.
An Indian-origin woman was jailed for 15 months by a Singapore court on Thursday for stealing about SGD 6,800 while working as a receptionist at an armed forces yacht club and using the money for her household expenses and financial obligations.
Jai Chithra Sunmugvale, 42, also signed an agreement and collected SGD 1,200 in rent on behalf of her sister-in-law when she was not authorised to do so, according to a Channel News Asia report.
She pleaded guilty to two charges of criminal breach of trust and cheating, and was sentenced to an additional 50 days' jail as she committed one of the offences while under a remission order.
Two more charges were considered for sentencing. These were for lying to the human resources manager of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Yacht Club that she had no criminal record, and for stealing another SGD 350 from her sister-in-law.
The court heard that Jai Chithra was hired to work at the SAF Yacht Club in October 2020. Her role involved manning the company's front desk, receiving cash payments and storing them in a safe at the end of the day.
On November 29, 2020, she accepted about SGD 235 in cash from a customer as payment for a power boat licence course. However, she kept the money and did not update the participant list for this course to include the customer.
After ending work that day, Jai Chithra also retrieved SGD 6,635 from the cash register and took it home.
The theft was discovered the next day when her colleague found that cash was missing from the safe. The colleague asked Jai Chithra where the money was, and she admitted to taking it.
The court also heard that in December 2020, Jai Chithra was helping her 39-year-old sister-in-law look for a new flat to buy.
The sister-in-law believed Jai Chithra was more experienced with such matters, so they agreed that she would handle certain affairs related to the purchase.
However, the sister-in-law never authorised Chithra to sign any agreement or collect any rent on her behalf, said the prosecutor.
The sister-in-law found a flat and signed an option to purchase it in December 2020. In April 2021, the seller said that she would need more time to look for another flat to move into.
Jai Chithra met with the property agent to discuss this, and told the agent that the seller could continue staying in the flat for SGD1,200, but only if SGD1,000 was first transferred to her. The seller did so.
Jai Chithra also signed a document prepared by the agent, which purportedly agreed to an extension of the seller's stay in the flat. The parties named in the agreement were the seller and Jai Chithra's sister-in-law.
During a scheduled inspection of the flat on May 29 last year, Jai Chithra met the seller and received the outstanding SGD200 in rent. She took the cash and issued a handwritten receipt that she signed in her sister-in-law's name.
The sister-in-law made a police report in August after being informed of these events by the property agent.
Jai Chithra has since made restitution to her sister-in-law, while no recovery or restitution was made for the theft from SAF Yacht Club.
The prosecution noted that Jai Chithra's theft was committed in an amateurish and opportunistic fashion, but said that she was unremorseful and gave "spurious defences" after her offences were discovered.
He also argued for a longer sentence as Jai Chithra had prior convictions for similar offences. She was previously given nine months' jail for criminal breach of trust in 2018.
Jai Chithra, who conducted her own defence, appeared to be crying and sniffling as she told the judge that she was sorry for her actions.
She asked for a lighter sentence to be reunited sooner with her three-year-old toddler, who was in the care of her elderly mother.
"During this period in remand I realise that being away from my child is a more excruciating punishment," she said.
District Judge Lee Lit Cheng said Jai Chithra was a recalcitrant offender whose string of previous convictions demonstrated her persistence in offending and disregard for the law.
The prosecution applied for a compensation order for the money stolen from SAF Yacht Club, but the judge did not order this as Jai Chithra said she did not have the financial means to pay. PTI GS PMS PMS
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