A town police officer in the north-central Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa has been temporarily suspended for talking on the phone while riding his motorcycle.

Junior Lieutenant Nguyen Thanh Hai, an officer of the town police unit, had been suspended for the offense, Lieutenant Colonel Mai Van Ha, chief of the traffic police division in Bim Son Town, confirmed on Tuesday.

According to Lt. Col. Ha, Hai was carrying out a patrol on April 15 when he noticed a container truck that refused to stop after being signaled to pull over by a Bim Son traffic officer.

Even though he is not responsible for enforcing traffic regulations, Hai decided to assist his traffic colleague by pursuing the truck on his motorbike and managed to get ahead of the vehicle.

While riding in front of the truck, Hai was using his mobile phone, Lt. Col. Ha said, adding that the action went against regulations and was not appropriate for a police officer.

The junior lieutenant was made aware of his offense and is now making a report of his own violation, based on which the Bim Son police department will impose an appropriate penalty.

Hai’s actions were filmed by a passenger of the container truck.

The five-minute video clip was uploaded to Facebook on the afternoon of the same day, and the officer in the footage was later identified as Junior Lieutenant Hai.