The Lan Anh gas station, located in Ho Chi Minh City’s Binh Thanh district, has been shut down pending a petrol quality investigation after it caused hundreds of motorbikes to breakdown on Wednesday.

>> Hundreds of bikes allegedly break down from poor petrol After the incident, the district economic police and market management team sealed the facilities of the station and launched an investigation into whether the petrol was of poor quality or mixed with water, thus casing the breakdowns. Calculations and measurements have been made to determine how much petrol was sold to customers that day and how much was in the inventory, said Colonel Dang Ngoc Vinh, head of the district’s Crime Economic Investigation Police Department. When the station was sealed, 2,450 liters of petrol remained in two petrol tanks, along with 952 liters of diesel, said the district market management team. Eleven samples of petrol have been taken for testing and many customer complaints have been recorded for consideration, said Senior Lieutenant Colonel Tran Minh Thuong. The results of the testing will serve as evidence for further action towards the station, police said.

Market management officers seal the station's facility on September 27, 2012 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

As previously reported, the incident began at about 6:30 pm Wednesday when a number of motorbike drivers flocked to the station at 220 National Highway 13, in Ward 26 in the district, to complain that their vehicles had stopped working after being filled there.

Watching the petrol contained in a can after being taken out from a motorbike with number plate 52Z3-3236, Tuoi Tre found that the upper half of the petrol was a light green, while the lower half was purple.

A mechanic told Tuoi Tre that the fuel was made by mixing common petrol with a kind of solvent and that there were signs of water in the petrol. In related developments, the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade has issued a document asking local marker management forces to tighten control over quality, prices and measurements at petrol and oil providers, as well as gas stations. The department also requested that petrol and oil providers ensure effective supply to meet market demand.

Economic police officers examine a petrol tank at the station (Photo: Tuoi Tre)