By Norman Palihawadane
The matriarch of an elite Panadura family watching evening television in her mansion was recently gagged and robbed of her gold bangles (thee sovereigns) by an employment agency-provided domestic aide who had worked for her for four days.
Police who have been unable to make any breakthrough into this case warned prospective employers to beware of the risks they are taking when making such recruitment saying assistance on antecedents is available. But given the pressures of current policing, most people are doubtful that servant registration with police of long ago still continues.
The victim, a member of an elite Panadura family, said that the aide had worked satisfactorily for four days and had gagged her with a triangular piece of cloth while she was watching evening television before removing her bangles and decamping. She was alone at the time of the robbery, her son who lived with her having gone out. Some strips of cloth, possibly made ready to tie her up, were found after the incident.
“I’d like this publicized to warn other prospective employers recruiting domestic aides through agencies of the risks,” she said. “I responded to an advertisement in a Sinhala newspaper, and a smart-looking woman representative of the agency escorted this person to my home.
“She was well spoken and I paid a fee of Rs. 25,000 plus Rs. 4,000 to cover transport expenses. We have demanded a refund of the fee and followed-up with a lawyer’s letter but there’s been no response. They are not even answering the phone,” she said. “She may have attempted to remove my ring but I’m not sure. I was also wearing earrings (brilliants) but these people are usually interested in easy-to-dispose gold so there was no attempt to rob them.”
A photograph of the woman, WhatsApped to the prospective employer, has been given to the police and has also appeared on Face Book. According to her NIC, the woman had a Nattandiya address but is no longer there.
“The agency wanted me to come to Kadawatha to interview her and got her to talk to me on the phone when I said it was not possible for me to come there. Thereafter the ID was sent to me and she was brought to my home by an agency representative,” the victim said.
The agency supplying the aide has offices in Kadawatha, Pasyala and elsewhere.Police said that they contacted the job agency and found that the information recorded on the suspect woman was false. The suspect has given the agency a copy of an NIC with an address in Nattandiya.
A senior police officer said that when recruiting strangers as domestic helpers, the employer should check up on antecedents for which police assistance is available. He called on the public to be vigilant when hiring people for domestic work because robberies have increased in recent times.
The job agency was under investigation and has liability in this instance because the suspect woman had been introduced by them to the employer and her son, police said. Panadura South police are conducting further investigations.