French tourist reclaims €2,000 after hotel housekeeper arrested for theft in Ho Chi Minh City
Saturday, November 02, 2024, 07:59 GMT+7
A French tourist has successfully reclaimed €2,000 (US$2,176) after police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested a hotel housekeeper for allegedly stealing the cash from his room.
The municipal Department of Public Security announced on Friday the arrest and prosecution of Nguyen Anh Phong, a 37-year-old hotel housekeeper from Ben Tre Province in the Mekong Delta, on charges of property theft.
The incident occurred on October 22, when Aurellien Raphael, a 42-year-old French national, rented a room alone at a hotel on Thu Khoa Huan Street in Ben Thanh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
The next morning, he left about €4,000 in his backpack in the corner of the room while he traveled to Cu Chi District in the same city.
Upon returning around 3:30 pm that same day, Raphael noticed signs of his backpack being searched and discovered that the cash was missing.
In a panic, he did not report the incident to the hotel receptionist.
On October 24, Raphael continued his trip to the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.
Later that day, after returning to the hotel, he reported the theft to the Ben Thanh Ward police in District 1.
Following his report, police launched an urgent investigation.
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| A police officer questions Nguyen Anh Phong (R), a 37-year-old hotel housekeeper from the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre, at the police station in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Supplied |
Within a day, on October 25, Phong was invited to the police station for questioning.
Faced with undeniable evidence, he confessed to stealing the money.
Phong explained that he had been a probationary employee at the hotel since October 19.
On October 23 morning, while cleaning Raphael’s room, he opened his backpack and stole the €2,000 before fleeing.
He then exchanged the stolen money at three gold shops in District 4, District 7, and Thu Duc City for over VND54 million ($2,134), which he spent on personal expenses.
During the exchange, Phong did not disclose the origin of the foreign currency, but the gold shop owners conducted the transactions as usual.
Upon discovering the truth, they voluntarily returned the foreign currency to police officers.
On Friday, the District 1 police returned the full amount of €2,000 to Raphael.
The French tourist, after receiving his money back, expressed his gratitude to the police for swiftly resolving the case and recovering his property.
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