4 days ago
M'sian woman jailed for pocketing over $38k to spend on Chinese idols
A 20-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to four months' jail on July 10 after misappropriating more than $38,000 from her employer to donate to "Chinese idols" on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Chew Yu En initially claimed she had used the money to repay her father's debts, but later admitted to spending it on her idols on the social media platform, according to court documents reported by CNA.
She pleaded guilty to one count of dishonest misappropriation by an employee. A second charge of making false entries on payment vouchers was taken into consideration during sentencing.
Chew worked as a clerk at Sin Le Heng Recycling from June 2024 to Jan 2025, earning a monthly salary of $2,300. She was in Singapore on a work permit and rented a room with her boyfriend.
According to CNA, Chew's only family member in Singapore was her uncle, who is a permanent resident.
The company she worked for bought recyclable materials from customers, who would have their items weighed at its warehouse.
Warehouse staff would collect the items and issue a note indicating the weight and quantity of the materials. The customer would then head to the counter with the note and receive a payment voucher issued by a clerk.
After the customer signed the voucher, the clerk would pay the stated amount in cash, which was kept in a box at the office counter.
When the cash ran low, Chew would notify her boss, who would either hand her the money to top up the box or do so himself after office hours.
Around December last year, while her boss was abroad, Chew worked alone in the office most of the time.
According to court documents cited by Shin Min Daily News, Chew took money from the cash box on 42 occasions between Dec 2, 2024, and Jan 9, 2025 - with amounts ranging from $65 to more than $2,000.
In total, she took $38,315.30 from the box.
To conceal her acts, Chew created false payment vouchers and signed them herself.
On Jan 8, the company director discovered discrepancies in the accounts and confronted Chew the next day.
She admitted to her acts, and the case was reported to the police.
Chew has not returned the money taken.
The prosecutor sought four to six months' jail, citing similar past cases.
Chew was given four months' jail.
