VietNamNet Bridge - On the way to apply for a job, two hungry young men who were out of money stopped at a grocery to pretend to buy bread and other food and then ran away.

The two food robbers.

The case has attracted public attention as the procuracy asked the court to sentence them to 3-10 years in prison.

According to the indictment, at around 10pm on October 17th 2015, Nguyen Hoang Tuan and On Thanh Tan, both 18, met each other at an Internet shop in Tang Nhon Phu B Ward , District 9, HCM City.

At 10am the next day, Tan drove a motorbike to take Tuan to a restaurant in Thu Duc district to apply for a job.

Along the way, the two men were hungry but had no money.

They stopped at a grocery in Thu Duc district, both still sat on the motorcycle. They ordered two packs of dried banana, one sweetened bread, a pack of salty roasted peanuts and three packs of sugar-coated tamarinds.

When the shopkeeper brought the food to them, Tuan snatched the food bag while Tan sped up the motorcycle to flee.

The shopkeeper shouted for help. Local people caught the two men and handed over them to the police. At the police station, Tuan and Tan confessed their criminal acts.

The indictment of the local procuracy said that the two men committed “robbery of assets" using dangerous tricks, referring to paragraph 2, Article 136 of the Penal Code. They could be sentenced from 3-10 years in prison.

However, some lawyers said that such acts should not be criminally sentenced. In this case administrative fines and giving a warning is sufficient.

The case was scheduled for trial at the Thu Duc District People's Court on May 17 but the trial was cancelled because the lawyer appointed for defendant Nguyen Hoang Tuan wanted to clarify details of the case.

Linh Thuy