Tu Tran jailed for over five years after pretending she was blind in jewellery heist

A woman wearing a fake wig pretended she was blind before squirting a chilli-based liquid in a shopkeeper’s eyes in an Adelaide CBD jewellery heist. Watching the shocking footage.

A woman pretended she was blind before spraying a shop assistant with a chilli-based solution to steal a huge jewellery haul, a court heard.

Tu Cam Thi Tran, 43, was jailed for over five years after she committed the “brazen” thefts to clear her drug debt after being hounded by the syndicate.

During sentencing, the District Court heard Kim Tang and her husband Meng Heng were working at their Gawler Place jewellery store, Classic Jewellers on November 7, 2023.

The court heard Tran attended the store wearing sunglasses, a wig and a broadbrim hat and was carrying a cane.

“You told the shop assistant that you were blind,” Judge Emily Telfer said.

The Classic Jewellers in James place Adelaide was robbed in 2023. Picture : George Yankovich

“You told her that you were looking to buy an 18-carat gold bracelet with a matching chain for a man.”

The court heard Mrs Tang let Tran handle the jewellery because she believed she had a vision impairment.

Tran then suddenly sprayed Mrs Tang in the face with a small bottle, causing her eyes to burn.

“You grabbed the whole tray of jewellery and ran out into James Place,” Judge Telfer said.

Mr Heng chased Tran down and she lunged at him and activated a taser, that did not connect.

The woman has been jailed for 5 years. Picture: 9NEWS

Mrs Tang was taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital and she was given some cream for her eyes and her face, with the incident fortunately not causing long lasting injury to her eyes.

The court heard the liquid was not tested but it did have a smell of chilli about it.

Tran, of Unley, pleaded guilty to robbery and two counts of theft, relating to stealing a diamond pendant, worth $7000, and a diamond ring, worth $26,999, from Michael Hill jewellers in May 2023.

The court heard Tran swapped the items with costume jewellery during these ruses.

Tran, who was born in Malaysia, turned to drug use after her partner was killed in a car accident and accumulated a large drug debt, the court heard.

CCTV showed the moments she stole from the jewellery store. Picture: 9 NEWS

“You were being hounded constantly and threats were made to your safety and the safety of your family,” Judge Telfer said.

“Your car was taken and your dog was taken as collateral to secure payment of the debt.

“You were worried about the safety of your family and you understood that members of the (drug) syndicate knew where your mother lived.”

Judge Telfer said people who work in customer service positions deserve to be protected from such behaviour.

“You preyed on the kindness of the proprietor of the store who believed that you needed special assistance and devoted themselves to trying to help you,” she said.

Tran was sentenced to five years and seven months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and eight months.

The sentence was backdated to November 7, 2023.