A Hanoi police officer has been warned and transferred from his current position for not helping a taxi driver seize a robber who had stabbed him.

Police in the capital's Thanh Oai District on Monday evening gave a warning to Captain Nguyen Van Lam, a police officer of Cu Khe Commune, for his irresponbility in dealing with a robbery that occured in the district a day earlier.

Lam was also transferred to a team in charge of criminal judgement execution and legal assistance of the district police.

The robbery occurred on Sunday afternoon, when 45-year-old Nguyen Tran Minh, a taxi driver, was stabbed in the chest by a man who had booked his taxi service before, according to the results of an investigation. 

Despited being injured, Minh, a Hanoi resident, managed to get off the cab and struggled with the man who attempted to rob him.

When the struggle took place, Lam was standing near the scene but he did nothing to help Minh other than gluing his eyes to his mobile phone.

Locals assisted Minh in subduing the robber and handed him over to the commune police later.

A clip of the incident was posted on social media later the same day, showing a police officer who was standing nearby the scene but took no action to seize the robber.

After verification, local police confirmed the officer to be Lam and the robber to be 51-year-old Pham Sy Sau, who had been hunted by police in Thanh Hoa Province for murder.

In his report about the incident, Lam said the robbery occurred when he was on the way to perform his tasks related to citizen identification cards.

Lam explained that he used his phone to call reinforcements from the commune police.

Lieutenent General Nguyen Hai Trung, director of Hanoi’s Public Security Department, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday that Lam had been warned for “being indifferent and irresponsible in helping a resident catch a robber.”

However, public opinion commented that the disciplinary action against Lam is too light and inappropriate since his behaviors are unacceptable, badly affecting the image of the police force in the public eye.

Regading such comment, Lieutenant General To An Xo, spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security, said that agencies concerned have grasped such feedback and will review the case.

“Authorities are currently reviewing the case," the lieutenant general said.

"The review will be performed in a right order."

Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Chu Ngoc Anh on Monday gave a letter of commendation and a reward of VND10 million (US$435) to Minh for his bravery in seizing the robber.

Hanoi police also offered a similar letter to Minh on Tuesday.

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