Keeping the street clean is never an easy task for sanitation workers, but the job has become even more dangerous when they can be assaulted anytime by those who litter.

A female sanitation worker was unfortunate enough to be in such a situation on Thursday, when she asked a sugarcane juice vendor not to dump trash to the street in front of her stall, only to be beaten to the point of unconsciousness.

On Thursday night, Tran Thi Thanh, an employee of the Hanoi Urban Environment Co., began her working shift in the Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

Seeing Pham Thi Bich Diep, who sells sugarcane juice on the sidewalk, littering the street, Thanh quickly reminded the street vendor to stop her improper act.

Diep, identified as a 32-year-old resident of Hoan Kiem District, apparently felt offended by the reminder and decided to call her husband to follow and ‘teach’ the sanitation worker a lesson.

The couple managed to follow Thanh to the nearby Nguyen Huu Huan Street, with the woman immediately rushing to assault the worker. Diep later left the scene with her husband with Thanh lying unconscious on the street.

Some locals discovered the assaulted woman and immediately called an ambulance to take her to the hospital.

On Friday, Diep turned herself in at the Hoan Kiem police station.

Police said an investigation is underway to decide a proper punishment for the attacker.

On the night of incident, Thanh and her coworkers were tasked with reminding local residents in the Old Quarter to keep their neighborhood clean, besides their daily task of sweeping the street, according to the Hanoi Urban Environment Co.

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