A serial-offending Vietnamese man who was accused of posing as a policeman to rob foreigners in HCM City finally faced trial on June 28.

 Dang Tuan Thanh 

Dang Tuan Thanh, 22, who lived in HCM City was arrested a year ago after the robbery of at least nine foreigners in the city.  

Police said Thanh used to work as a xe om motorbike taxi driver in the city’s backpackers area. He could speak English so he duped the victims into thinking he was a real anti-drug officer. He also used a fake police badge.

Thanh approached the foreigners and asked them to hand over their bags for investigation. He would then run away with their belongings. 

On May 26 last year, Thanh stopped a 43-year-old Japanese visitor who was walking on the Thu Thiem Bridge in District 2. The fake cop asked the Japanese man to show his personal papers as he was said to match the profile of a suspected criminal. Thanh then quickly snatched his iPhone 6.

Lee Sie Zan, a 31-year-old Malaysian tourist, was robbed on the afternoon of June 7 last year in District 7. Wearing a police uniform, Thanh stopped him on Hung Gia Street before presenting a red card and asking to check his bag. He then fled with the bag, which contained a tablet and a cell phone worth around VND13 million (USD590).

Two other tourists from German and the US also fell victims to similar tricks between May 26 and June 2 last year, all in District 2.

Some days later, police arrested Thanh at his rented house in District 7. They also seized bags he robbed from tourists and a fake police identity card.

He had earlier been sentenced to a year in prison for robbing a foreign tourist and after being released from the prison, he continued his robberies.

dtinews