Domestic helper gets 14 months’ jail in Hong Kong for jewellery theft

A domestic helper has been jailed for 14 months in Hong Kong after admitting that she stole jewellery from her employer and pawned most of the 47 items for HK$200,000 (US$25,486) out of greed.

Eastern Court on Monday sentenced Sherelle Lyn Valle Dajay, 41, for the theft of valuables taken from her employer’s home at Black’s Link in Happy Valley over a seven-month span last year.

The Filipino national pleaded guilty last month to two counts of theft. She took valuables stored inside an unlocked wardrobe in the master bedroom between March and October.

The court heard the stolen items included various gold necklaces, diamond rings, gold-plated watches, pendants, bracelets and earrings.

Jewellery owner Christine Sin Nga-yu, 60, found that her valuables were missing on October 13 last year. When she and her mother confronted Dajay the next morning, the defendant admitted wrongdoing and showed them the pawn tickets she got after using the luxurious items as collateral.

The helper was arrested that afternoon after an initial body search found she was in possession of a stolen watch worth HK$4,300.