Two tourism employees who are involved in an alleged assault against a British visitor at a famous attraction in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Binh have been suspended for investigation, the provincial tourism department said Friday.

Nguyen Manh Hung, a tour guide at the Phong Nha Farmstay tourist attraction, and Nguyen Dinh Khanh, a staff member of the Phong Nha – Ke Bang tourist center, were also asked to submit their written report about the case to the department by November 10.

The Quang Binh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will also inspect to clarify the violations and wrongdoings of the two, deputy director Nguyen Van Ky said on Friday.

British national Kelly Emma Kirsty lost a GoPro camera while exploring the Hang Toi (Dark Cave) in the province’s UNESCO-recognized Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park in October, according to her post on TripAdvisor.

The tourist was allegedly beaten by a man, later identified as Hung, for refusing to pay VND3.2 million (US$143) to get it back, she said.

When asked by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday, Hung admitted he had asked the British woman to pay the ransom and made her to fall onto the ground when they both tried to grab the device.

The tour guide also said he had paid VND3 million ($134) to buy the camera from Khanh, who found it under the water when diving to look for another lost item inside Hang Toi.

Khanh, however, said he only handed the device to Hung and did not ask for any money. The staff member said Hung insisted to give him VND2 million ($90) and he eventually had to accept it.

Kirsty said Hung had raised his fist at her after she refused to pay the money, and also threw her against a wall twice.

The British tourist eventually had to beg the man to get off her, which he only accepted after being paid the full amount of money he had demanded.

“He left me with cuts and bruises,” she said in the TripAdvisor post.

When Kirsty later checked her GoPro, she found many selfie photos of the men who had allegedly picked up the device, and the times recorded on the photos proved that the camera was recovered when she was still at the caves.

Hung admitted to Tuoi Tre he had taken some of those photos.

“If the story is indeed as reported by Tuoi Tre, Khanh and Hung have violated the code of ethics of a tourism employee, which also affects the Quang Binh’s tourism industry,” Ky said.

The department is considering revoking the tour guide license of Hung, and penalizes Khanh as per the labor laws, he added.

Ky added that the department will try to contact Kirsty for more information.

“We have also asked relevant agencies to publicly apologize to the tourist,” he said.

In the meantime, Hoang Hai Van, deputy director of the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, confirmed to Tuoi Tre that he had received the report by Khanh.

Even though Khanh did not directly contact Kirsty, he still violated the company’s regulations in handling lost properties of visitors, Van said.

“We will hold a meeting to decide penalties for him,” he said.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!