On Thursday, police in Hanoi imposed three charges on a man who kept three people, including two children, hostage during a robbery the day before.

>> Confronted by police chief, hostage taker surrenders Tran Thanh Binh, 29, has been indicted for “plundering property,” “illegal arrest, custody or detention of people,” and “intentionally inflicting injury on, or causing harm to, the health of other persons,” Colonel Duong Van Giao, head of the Hanoi Police’s social crime investigation agency, said yesterday. Binh was detained on Wednesday after he surrendered to police following negotiations with Major General Nguyen Duc Chung, the Hanoi police chief, who met Binh face-to-face after he had held his hostages for four hours and refused to surrener to police officers. The victims in the case are Dong Thi Anh Hong, 48, who was assaulted but not held hostage; her sister, and two nieces. The group was staying at Hong’s flat in a collective quarter in Thanh Xuan District before Binh committed the crime.  After his arrest, Binh, who is from Quang Ninh Province, told police that he had bought an airsoft gun, 100 pellets, a knife, and several tools in northern Lao Cai Province to use for robberies. Bind said he arrived in Hanoi the evening of September 16. He brought his knife with him and spent the night on a staircase landing near Hong’s apartment At about 6 am next morning, when he saw Hong stepping out of her apartment, Binh walked over and began choking her.

Hong managed to escape and shouted for help. Binh then rushed into the house, using the knife to threaten Hong’s sister and two children – 11 and 12 years old. Police surrounded the flat and asked him to release the hostages, but he only set the 11-year-old child free. He finally surrendered and released the remaining two hostages after Major General Chung arrived at 10:40 am to talk with him.False clip After Binh was detained, police found a video posted on Facebook which contained false information about the incident related by two people who live near Hong. This clip shows Tran Thi Be, who claimed to be Binh’s aunt, explaining that Binh had been searching for her house that morning, but walked into Hong’s house by mistake. Be claimed that Hong then locked Binh in her house. The clip also showed a man, Tran Van Ngoc, discussing the same incorrect story. Police summoned Be and Ngoc for questioning, and Be confessed that she had released false information. Ngoc told police that he only recounted what Be had told him to.    Police said they have identified the person who posted the clip on the social network and are investigating the motive behind the action.

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