A 75-YEAR-old Glenwood woman was assaulted and burnt with a household detergent by her domestic worker of eight and a half years, following a confrontation over missing items from her safe.
This incident has sparked concerns about elderly safety and employment verification practices.
Brad Nathanson, owner of Brad Nathanson Investigations said he believed the 45-year-old domestic worker had since fled to her home in Zimbabwe.
It had been alleged that the elderly woman confronted her domestic worker when she found two items missing from her safe.
Nathanson said that the domestic worker had attacked the elderly woman when her guard was down.
He said the woman had advised her domestic worker to "go home" and consider returning the stolen items.
“She arrived a few days later and tricked the elderly woman into opening the safe by suggesting they look for the missing items.
“As the woman turned her back on the domestic worker, she was grabbed from behind. She was bound and gagged and dragged through to the kitchen where another cloth was stuffed into her mouth. The cloth contained one or another detergent which burned her mouth and throat,” said Nathanson.
He said the woman was in hospital receiving treatment.
Nathanson said that these crimes were becoming common, especially with ‘domestic workers who become like family’.
“She was with my client for many years. She even took care of her sick daughter, who passed away a few months ago. They knew each other well and she clearly trusted her domestic worker,” said Nathanson.
He said that he had seen many cases of the elderly being attacked by their domestic workers.
“It’s common in the Indian community for domestic workers to attack their employers. They know Indians have expensive jewellery like gold, so they target them.
“They go as far as to demand 18ct jewellery when they are robbing them because they know the older Indian ladies always have expensive gold. The elderly can get very hurt just because their domestic workers want their valuables,” said Nathanson.
He said that at times, domestic workers could be treated badly by their employers.
“The employers think that the domestic workers are silly and don’t notice their valuables. So they then bide their time. They leave them alone at home for hours and in that time they search for things to steal. It doesn’t matter how someone speaks to you, you cannot rob them,” said Nathanson.
He said the elderly need to be cautious of who they hired.
“Not everyone you employ as a domestic worker would have good intentions. You need to be careful because once they are over the border with your valuables, the chances are you will never be able to recover them.
“Many times you see that employers don’t have details about their domestic workers. They just take them off the street and pay them for a day's work. That is dangerous,” said Nathanson.
iFacts, a provider of employee screening services, warned that doing background checks on employees were vital.
“Recently, we have read of people being attacked and murdered by their domestic workers and others who have stolen considerable money and items of great value.
“Domestic staff can be perceived as members of the family. This level of trust can cause families to underestimate the possibility that a disgruntled or untrustworthy employee might become a risk to the family by sharing information with syndicates, simply stealing to improve their lifestyle, or, sadly, going as far as to harm the family.
“Thus, the hiring decision regarding the domestic service provider demands great care and caution, and often, people are guided by emotions and skip the essential background checks,” said iFacts on their website.
They said some families took the word of agencies that the domestic worker had been "checked".
“When a person is appointed to work in your home, it is strongly recommended that you ask for a copy of the background check.”