A bus employee in Hoi An City, in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam, has been sanctioned for overcharging foreign passengers.

Hoang Van Thuy, director of a local transport cooperative which operates several bus routes in Hoi An, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday that one of its employees had been disciplined and suspended from work for 10 days for ripping off passengers.

The staff member in question was responsible for collecting fares on the bus with registration number 92K – 3286, running between Hoi An and the central city of Da Nang.

On December 20, 2017, a Vietnamese passenger revealed an incident on his Facebook page after witnessing the employee in question overcharge two foreign travelers on board the Da Nang-Hoi An bus.

“He charged me VND20,000 [US$0.88] for the journey but took VND50,000 [$2.2] from each of the foreign passengers,” the Facebook user said.

The Da Nang Traffic Lights and Public Transport Management Centre (DATRAMAC) has since verified the information, as well as ordered the transport cooperative to issue a stern penalty for the deception.

According to Thuy, the employee was only collecting ‘additional fare’ which had been negotiated and agreed to by the two passengers.

The bus allows passengers to bring suitcases on board weighing a maximum of 10 kilograms, Thuy elaborated, adding that baggage should be kept in the trunk if it exceeds this limit.

“However, the foreign passengers insisted that they be allowed to bring their luggage to their seats and agreed to pay higher fare,” the director explained.

Despite the passengers’ consent, it was still wrong to collect a higher fare, he asserted.

After a discussion, leaders of the cooperative decided to penalize the employee responsible.

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