The administration of a ward in Vietnam’s capital city Hanoi has fined a local street vendor VND150,000 (US$6) for overcharging two foreign travelers VND50,000 ($2) for four Vietnamese donuts.

The donut seller, D.T.H., hailing from northern Thai Binh Province, got the penalty on Sunday after committing the act at Hoan Kiem Lake in Hoan Kiem District earlier on the same day, a leader of the district’s authorities said the same day.  

H.’s wrongdoing was witnessed by a man, D.T., who was on a stroll with his friend in the lake area.

After advising the woman against such fleecing and she denied it, T. notified the lake’s security team, who then reported it to local authorities.

Accordingly, the woman, through body language, offered a bag of four Vietnamese donuts for VND50,000 to the two foreign men, who then asked for a 50-percent discount, but the street vendor did not agree.

When the men handed her a banknote of VND100,000 ($4), she slid VND50,000 into the hand of one of them and left at once.

At a meeting with the district’s Ly Thai To Ward police, she admitted to ripping off the tourists, expressed regret for her wrongdoing, and apologized for undermining the image of the capital city in the eyes of foreign visitors.

Following the fine imposed on H. for breaching street vending regulations, the ward authorities requested her to provide a written commitment pledging not to repeat the violation.

A week ago, authorities in Buoi Ward of Hanoi’s Tay Ho District also handled a similar case in which another street vendor, B.T.L., attempted to fleece a pair of foreign tourists VND200,000 ($8) for a small bag of fruits.

Upon returning the VND200,000 to the tourists, L. was not penalized by the ward for overcharging.

However, she was cautioned against repeating the violation in the future.

Authorities issued a fine of VND150,000 to L. for flouting urban order directives.

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