The Judiciary Police (PJ) have arrested an Indonesian domestic helper for stealing diamond jewellery from her employers, PJ spokesman Lei Chi Hou announced during a special press conference yesterday.
Lei identified the suspect as a 51-year-old woman by the name of Supiarani. Lei said there are two victims in the case, an elderly woman and her middle-aged daughter. Both are local residents who live in the same building but on different floors in Zape.
According to Lei, the elderly victim hired Supiarani as a domestic helper through her husband in June 2025. During her employment, Supiarani was required to assist with deliveries and occasionally look after her daughter’s child, which allowed her to enter and leave both flats.
At around 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, while Supiarani was working at the daughter’s home, the latter observed her entering a room and acting suspiciously. She subsequently discovered that three pieces of diamond jewellery had been stolen from an unlocked jewellery box on her bedroom dressing table. After reporting this to her mother, the latter also discovered that two pieces of diamond jewellery were missing from a drawer in her bedroom. The total loss for the two victims amounted to around 106,500 patacas - 38,000 patacas for the elderly victim, and 68,500 patacas for her daughter.
The Judiciary Police arrested Supiarani on Wednesday in the elderly victim’s flat. In the course of the investigation, PJ officers discovered that Supiarani had taken advantage of her job to familiarise herself with where the valuables were kept.
In April, while no-one else was in the elderly victim’s home, Supiarani stole the two pieces of jewellery. Last month, while working in the other victim’s home, she took the opportunity to enter the bedroom and steal another three pieces. Lei noted that Supiarani had subsequently taken the items to Hong Kong where she sold them for HK$5,000 (5,149 patacas), before wiring the proceeds to her family back home for their living expenses.
Supiarani was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) yesterday to face theft charges.
Meanwhile, Lei added that because the case involved working at an officially unapproved workplace – a violation of the Law on the Hiring of Non-resident Workers – the matter has also been referred to the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) for follow-up action.
Judiciary Police (PJ) officers escort the hooded theft suspect from Indonesia to a PJ van outside the PJ headquarters in Zape yesterday. – Photo: Armindo Neves
