Police in Ho Chi Minh City have detained a local man who snatched a bag from a British woman and later threw back her personal papers, room keys, and bank cards, all contained in a purse placed in the bag, at the entrance of her hotel.  

Police of District 1 on Friday handed the suspect, Nguyen Cong Danh, 32, over to the municipal police for further investigation after arresting him on charges of robbery as prescribed in the Vietnamese Penal Code.  

The victim was a 61-year-old British woman, from whom Danh snatched a bag five days ago outside Ben Thanh Market in the central business district.

On February 20, Danh reached an area outside the market and found a foreign woman walking with a bag on her shoulder after traveling on a motorbike through many streets to look for prey.

The man approached the woman, snatched the bag from her, and sped up while the victim chased after him and shouted for help, an initial police report said.

Danh later examined the bag and found two smartphones, a pair of spectacles, VND1.2 million (US$52) in cash, and a wallet containing personal papers, two hotel room key cards showing the hotel name, and two bank cards.

After appropriating all the other assets inside the bag, Danh brought the purse containing such papers and cards to the victim’s hotel, located on Ly Tu Trong Street, and threw it at the entrance on the evening of the same day.

A hotel guard picked up the purse and returned it to the foreign woman, who had reported the robbery to local police.

Soon after launching an investigation into the case, the district police identified Danh as the suspect and arrested him the next morning. 

Police officers recovered from Danh the two smartphones and the pair of spectacles, which were then given back to the victim.

Regarding the VND1.2 million cash, the suspect said he had spent it on personal needs.   

As the victim is a foreigner, the district police have transferred the case to the municipal police department for handling.

Anyone who snatches another person’s assets will face penalties ranging from one year in jail to life imprisonment and can be subject to fines from VND10,000,000 ($436) to VND100,000,000 ($4,360), depending of the severity of their crime, according to Article 171 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.

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