Criminal police team in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday announced they have arrested bag snatcher Thach Thanh Tuyen, 24, from the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, for robbing property.

The snatcher was apprehended after having been on the run for two weeks, according to officers under the municipal police department.

According to investigation, Le Lam Bao Tran, an overseas Vietnamese who arrived from Singapore to return the city for the Lunar New Year celebration, which fell on February 5, with her family.

While she and relatives were having a photo taken in the crossroad Cao Ba Quat – Thi Sach in district 1, a men snatched her bag which reportedly contained more than SGD2,000 (US$1,473), her credit card, and other important personal documents.

The snatcher ran toward his accomplice, who was waiting on a motorbike, and fled the scene afterward.

The cameraman of the family photo snapped the picture right at the moment Tuyen got his hands on the bag. The picture, with the bag snatcher’s face clearly visible, was submitted to police officers to assist their investigation.

Criminal investigation yesterday detected Tuyen and his girlfriend walked into a hotel in Trung Son residential quarter in Binh Chanh District; they quickly arrested him.

Tuyen admitted the crime with an accomplice who is being hunted by police.

SGGP