Ho Chi Minh City police confirmed on Wednesday that they had fined and deported two French citizens for failing to bring along passports and vandalizing commercial property with graffiti. 

French citizens Portron Malo Pierre Bernard, 36, and Da Cruz Kevin, 33, received a fine for engaging in their illegal behavior in District 1.

On October 2, police apprehended the two after they were found spraying paint and scrawling graffiti on a metal construction fence on Nguyen Trai Street in Ben Thanh Ward.

Police officers seized 20 spray paint cans and various paintbrushes before escorting them to the ward's police station.

Both foreigners failed to present their passports when questioned.

They admitted to buying the spray paint bottles and other tools to commit such acts after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City.

Both men were fined for the graffiti and received an additional fine for traveling in Vietnam without a passport or valid substitute documents.

Police confirmed that each foreigner was required to pay a total fine of VND12.9 million (US$508).

In addition, both of them were told to restore the property to the original condition.

District police, in coordination with the Immigration Office, have ordered the deportation of both men, following stricter penalties set by the city’s police department.

Recently, several similar cases involving foreigners in the district have also been uncovered.

The most recent incident occurred in late July, when a 24-year-old New Zealander and a 26-year-old Frenchman were fined and deported for smearing the roll-up door of a house on Pho Duc Chinh Street with paint and graffiti. 

Another case was recorded on June 8, when district police fined another 28-year-old New Zealander for similar actions on Nguyen Du Street.

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