Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
A British tourist who ran out of money after going on holiday in Vietnam is facing up to 15 years in jail after allegedly using a knife to rob 85 GBP from a corner shop.
Vietnamese cops quoted in local media say that 44-year-old John David Ablett had come into the country on tourist visit, and was staying in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
Police officers in the city’s Nguyen Cu Trinh Ward, in District 1, said they had a call from a Circle K convenience store clerk called Luong My Linh, 25, to say that he had been robbed at knifepoint.
Officers then rushed to the address on Cong Quynh Street where they got a description of the knife wielding foreigner who had taken cash and run off.
They said that the total value of the money stolen was 2.6 million VND (85 GBP) and using CCTV cameras and local research, they managed to track down and arrest the British man.
They said he had confessed to carrying out the robbery because he had run out of money after entering the company on a tourist Visa. They said that the Visa indicated he arrived in Vietnam in June last year, but was staying illegally after the Visa expired.
The investigation is continuing, and if convicted of armed robbery, he faces between seven and 15 years in jail according to the country’s penal code.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
