A Vietnamese driver filmed obstructing a fire engine that was responding to an emergency in Ho Chi Minh City has been fined VND2.5 million (US$110) and had his driver's license confiscated for two months.

The sum is VND500,000 ($22) short of the maximum financial penalty and the forfeiture term needs another month to reach the longest time of seizure, according to Vietnamese law.

The punishment was handed out to Dong Xuan Nguyen, 42, who failed to give way to a fire truck on an emergency call-out in the southern metropolis’ suburban district of Hoc Mon, police said on Saturday.

A policeman told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that on Monday morning six fire trucks and several dozen firefighters were dispatched to contain a fire in the area.

But one of the vehicles was stubbornly blocked by the car while moving on Le Van Khuong Street, prompting the driver to make long hoots in rapid successions although the siren was already blaring.

The fire truck could overtake the car only after being obstructed for four kilometers, the police officer said.

The incident was captured on video by a frustrated fireman, the officer said, adding that several other drivers also refused to give way to the fire engine.  

The car driver Nguyen was later questioned by police and explained that he unwittingly obstructed the emergency vehicle because his mind was being occupied with personal matters at the time, making him inattentive to what was running behind on the road.

Police said Nguyen cooperated with them during the investigation, admitted his wrongdoing and accepted the penalty.

They added that the driver was traveling in the correct lane and did not zigzag or halt his car in a way that deliberately impeded the fire truck.

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