A man entered a bank in Ho Chi Minh City on Friday and used what looked like a gun to coerce clerks into handing him cash, police said the same day.

The incident happened at an office of Vietnamese lender Viet A Bank on Dinh Tien Hoang Street in Binh Thanh District at around 11:10 am.

A man, armed with pepper spray, entered the bank and started spraying the lachrymator at security guards and bank tellers to create confusion.

There were only around one to two customers inside the venue at the time, as it was almost lunchtime.

The lone suspect then pulled out what looked like a gun and intimidated the employees into handing over two piles of cash, valued at VND500 million ($21,500) each.

He put the money into a large shopping bag and fled the scene before police arrived.

A crowd of onlookers could be seen outside of the bank at 12:30 pm the same day, as officers investigated the crime scene and took statements from eyewitnesses.

Binh Thanh District police say they are working with relevant parties in investigating the case.

A crowd of onlookers gather outside an office of Viet A Bank in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, where a robbery happened on December 7, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Tran Tien Dung, deputy general director of Viet A Bank, confirmed the incident to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday afternoon, adding that no human casualties were reported in the heist.

“All deposits at Viet A Bank are insured as per regulations by the State Bank of Vietnam, so our customers’ rights are always guaranteed,” Dung said.

CCTV footage acquired by police shows the suspect being around 1.7 meters tall and wearing denim clothes, sneakers, a red-and-white helmet, and a face mask.

He used a Honda Dream motorbike to get to and away from the site of the robbery.

Police officers investigate the scene of a heist at an office of Viet A Bank in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, on December 7, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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