Ho Chi Minh City police arrest suspect in theft targeting Swiss tourist

Police officers also confirmed that a young man mistakenly identified as the thief was not involved in the crime.

Initial investigations showed that at around 12:30 am on October 30, V.D.A.Q., 19, and M.N., 29, a Swiss national, were sitting by the river at Bach Dang Wharf Park on Ton Duc Thang Street when a man secretly took money from M.N.'s bag.

After being discovered and chased, the thief climbed over a railing and hid among rocks near the riverbank.

He later returned to retrieve his motorbike and flee.

When people spotted and tried to stop him, he abandoned the vehicle and continued escaping on foot.

At around 2:00 am that day, local residents spotted a young man wearing a black shirt and gray shorts, with his clothes completely wet, walking along the riverbank.

Suspecting he was involved in the theft, they restrained him and alerted ward police officers at the scene.

The young man was identified as N.D.B., 19.

After questioning him and asking the victim to determine whether he was the thief, police concluded that B. was not involved in the crime.

Continuing their investigation, police located the suspect, Le Van Tien, a resident of Binh Hung Commune, on Duong Ba Trac Street at around 9:00 pm on October 31 and took him in for questioning.

Tien admitted to stealing money from M.N.'s bag.

Initial investigations found that he had acted alone, without any accomplices.

Regarding information circulating on social media, Saigon Ward police found that a Facebook account named 'Cao Truc Chi' had published two posts with videos about the incident.

The posts claimed that the incident involved a necklace snatching on Ba Son Bridge, alleging that a young man had been wrongfully detained. 

They attracted numerous interactions, comments, and shares.

Police summoned the account owner for questioning.

She said that at noon on October 31, while selling goods on Phan Xich Long Street, she met N.D.B., who came to buy water.

During their conversation, B. told her that he was mistaken for the thief and subsequently cleared by police and allowed to leave.

C. said she regularly filmed everyday activities and conversations with customers and posted them on her personal account to attract followers.

She added that she had no intention of criticizing, defaming or deliberately harming any individual or organization.

After meeting with police, she removed the posts and videos related to the case and published a correction.

Police confirmed that the incident at Bach Dang Wharf Park involved the theft of money from a bag, not a necklace snatching.

Ho Chi Minh City police urged the public to exercise caution when receiving, posting and sharing information on social media, to verify sources, and to avoid making assumptions or accusing others of crimes before official investigations are completed.

They warned that posting unverified images and information could cause misunderstandings, damage the reputation and dignity of wrongly identified individuals and their families, disrupt their lives, and cause public concern.

People who discover suspected legal violations should promptly notify police and provide relevant information and images to support investigations.

They should not incite others, assault or otherwise harm the health or reputation of people suspected of wrongdoing.

Everyone should take responsibility for the content they post and share, and promptly remove or correct false information to prevent further circulation and harm.