Woman disguised herself in full length Muslim dress and sunglasses to steal £50,000 laser hair removal machine in beauty salon raid
- Harpreet Kaur, 29, posed as a customer from Dubai at Pure Skin salon in London
- Her friend Monica Pashias, 42, burst in pretending to be a police officer
- Tyrone Waugh, 41, carried the equipment away as Kaur locked beautician inside
- Kaur convicted of fraud charge and false imprisonment but cleared of robbery
- Given 30 months despite begging judge for leniency because of Covid in prisons
A woman who donned a full-length niqab and sunglasses as part of a plot to steal a £50,000 laser hair removal machine has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after a judge rejected her plea to avoid prison in case she caught coronavirus.
Harpreet Kaur, 29, booked an appointment at the Pure Skin salon in St George’s Wharf, south London and arrived wearing traditional Muslim dress as a disguise while claiming she was from Dubai.
Once inside Kaur unlocked the door for accomplice Monica Pashias, 42, who burst in posing as a policewoman who said she was there to take away the expensive Alma Soprano Platinum Ice hair removal machine.
Harpreet Kaur, 29, donned a niqab and posed as a customer from Dubai in a plot to steal a £50,000 laser hair removal scheme before locking the frightened beautician inside
A third suspect, Tyrone Waugh, 41, carried the equipment to a waiting car while Kaur locked the terrified beautician in the salon before fleeing.
Kaur stood trial at Inner London Crown Court and was jailed for 30 months after being convicted of false imprisonment and possession of an article for use in fraud. The jury couldn't reach a verdict on a third charge of robbery.
After being convicted Kaurhad begged to be spared prison in case she caught Covid-19 - but the judge said no.
Mr Justice Silas Reid said: 'You decided to use any means necessary to get that machine, and you have to bear the consequences of that now'.
Kaur, pictured leaving court with her solicitor, begged a judge not to jail her in case she got coronavirus but was given two and a half years in prison
Her two accomplices were both given suspended sentences after admitting robbery last year.
Judge Reid said Haur was the mastermind of the raid and had 'taken the law into one's own hands' because she believed the machine belonged to her.
“I’m quite sure you and Ms Pashias hatched a plan, at your instigation, to get your hands on that machine by any means necessary”, he said according to the Evening Standard.
He went on: “You disguised yourself by wearing Islamic dress which covered your face, and I’m quite sure the reason you were dressed that way to go into the salon was to disguise your identity.'You knew full well you were not entitled to use the methods you did to obtain that machine. That’s obvious, people can’t go around falsely imprisoning people – that’s vigilantism, taking the law into one’s own hands'.
Her trial heard she had become 'fixated' with the idea that the Pure Skin salon had her laser hair removal machine after she reported it stolen to the police in 2018.
Her friend Ms Pashias then agreed to help her take the machine and they cooked up a plan that Kaur would go along for a 'patch' skin test with beautician Claudia Marques.
Minutes after arriving Pashia burst in claiming to be a Met Police officer and demanding the machine back and as it was taken away Kaur said: 'You are in big trouble, you need to run, this was stolen from me'.
Kaur orchestrated the raid with the help of two friends, one of whom posed as a police officer at St George's Wharf, Vauxhall (pictured)
Police then traced Kaur who then produced a document she claimed proved she owned it - but the judge said after the trial he believed she was lying.
Ms Marques said that she was terrified and traumatised by the event and was unable to keep working and began relying on her local food bank to feed her family.
Kaur, from Hounslow, west London, must serve at least half her prison sentence before being freed.
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