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Dec 9, 2010
Part-time maid jailed for stealing and cheating
By Khushwant Singh
SHE was paid to do household chores at various homes but on Nov 3 temptation got the better of Gwendolyn Janea Castro. The 31-year-old Filipino decided to steal $100 in cash, a cell phone, a watch and a credit card from the Tampines flat of Diktesh Singh Puri, 27, an engineer.
The total value was $1,500. While in the flat, she also logged onto the Jetstar website and bought three tickets for a flight from Singapore to Manila for Nov 4, charging the cost of $1,060 to Mr Puri's credit card. In a district court on Thursday, she pleaded guilty to theft and cheating and was jailed three months.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Winston Man told the court that after letting her in at 10.30am, Mr Puri went to take a nap in the bedroom. It was then she committed the offences, he said. She was long gone when Mr Puri noticed the items missing and called the police at 12.15am the next day.
Castro was arrested at the airport some five hours later. The stolen cell phone and watch were found in the bag of her accomplice Symon Velasquez, 30 while the credit card was on her. The court was not told what happened to the third air ticket. Velasquez was fined $2,000 last month for dishonestly receiving stolen property.
