Domestic Helper Sentenced for Voyeurism and Theft After Posting Inappropriate TikTok Video
An Indonesian domestic helper was sentenced to three months and one week in jail on Tuesday (July 19) for posting a TikTok video that showed her employer’s 4-year-old son changing his pants, exposing his genitals. Rike Kusnul Kotimah, 25, also stole $50 from her employer during her first month of employment. She pleaded guilty to charges of voyeurism and theft, receiving three months for the voyeurism charge and an additional week for theft. A charge of distributing an intimate recording was considered during her sentencing.
Rike began working for her employer’s family on March 11, 2022. According to TODAY Online, she was instructed to report any money she found while doing laundry and return it immediately. Shortly after starting, she requested a transfer, which the family approved on April 14.
Before her transfer could take place, her female employer checked Rike’s iPhone to ensure she hadn’t taken any photos of the family. The employer found a picture of a $50 bill in front of her husband’s pants. When confronted, Rike initially claimed she returned the bill but later admitted to taking it from the bedroom when she was alone and spent it on herself.
Following this incident, the employer filed a police report against Rike. During the investigation, it was revealed that Rike had filmed herself changing the boy’s pants, which also showed his genitals. Rike stated she recorded the video as a way to remember the boy. However, the caption on the TikTok post, written in Bahasa Indonesian, read, “Conditions for a domestic worker to be successful: Personal necessities borne by the employer, food… borne by employer, no day off, no Shopee, whatever things I can request from the employer… go back to Indonesia with a bag full of money, not a bag full of dirty clothes!”
Rike faced a potential seven-year sentence for theft and up to two years for voyeurism, with possible fines, caning, or a combination of these penalties.
