A Malaysian man has been detained by police in the south-central province of Khanh Hoa for trading counterfeit money.

Wong Giao Lian, 29, a Malaysian national, has been kept in custody by Khanh Hoa police for fraud and property appropriation, Colonel Nguyen Hong Ky, deputy chief of the local police department, said on Sunday.

Wong was arrested by officers when he was spotted being chased down by local residents in Nha Trang, the capital city of Khanh Hoa, on Saturday afternoon.

He arrived in Vietnam via Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City before traveling to Nha Trang and staying at a local hotel with a Vietnamese woman, according to Wong’s statement.

The suspect then came to a convenience store to trade ten bills of RM100 for VND5 million (US$222.5).

The Vietnamese shopkeeper then found the cash to be fake and called her relatives to pursue the foreigner before he was nabbed by the police.

Officers carried out a search at Wong’s hotel room and confiscated VND7.2 million ($320.4) and 679 bills of RM100, which the suspect said were counterfeit money.

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