Tourists back at ease as scam artists are wiped off Hanoi centre

Monday, 19 April 2010 12:47

Last Updated on Friday, 21 May 2010 20:54

Written by Administrator

No longer are tourists disturbed when walking near Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. The group of scam artists that had been previously mentioned in a story broken by DTiNews on March 30, are no longer to be seen in the area. Those scam artists, disguised as street vendors, used different cunning tricks on tourists to dupe them out of their cash. Tourists who happened to walk by the area, were often forced to take a picture or purchase some items from this group of women.

The Hanoi City People's Committee, after hearing about the news, had demanded for the problem to be solved by the People's Committee of Hoan Kiem District. The local police were then ordered to restore the public order and carry out disciplinary actions against those who were involved in the scamming of tourists.

Mr. Dao Quang Tam, Deputy Head of Hoan Kiem District Urban Management Division said, "As soon as we heard from DTiNews about the scam, Hoan Kiem District authorities had organised an urgent meeting and directed all related units to investigate and solve the problem. We then found out that those scam artists were orginally from Hai Duong, Thai Binh and Nam Dinh Provinces. They came to Hanoi to look for work, and instead of trying to find a decent job, they worked together to play tricks on tourists as a means of living. We will continue to monitor the situation."

Mr. Tam added, however, that the situation might reoccur, if the authorities don't have a strong security force keeping constant watch on the area and more sophisticated scamming tricks may take place. Currently, the scam artists are only subject to a fine of merely VND 50,000 - 100,000 (2-5 USD) each. According to Mr. Tam, stronger discplinary measures need to be established to prevent this kind of scamming from happening again.

Tourists are now free to walk the streets of Hanoi at ease and without any unnecessary disturbance. Linda, a Swedish tourist shared with DTiNews, "No longer being disturbed, I feel really comfortable walking around in Hanoi. The city is really beautiful, and when I leave, many wonderful memories about Hanoi will be kept in my heart."

Below are a few pictures that DTiNews reporters captured recently near Hoan Kiem Lake and at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square: