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Aussie robbed by men disguised as flirty women in Saigon

By Quoc Thang November 18, 2016 | 12:47 am PT

The duo, already arrested, admits to snatching phones from many other tourists in the backpackers’ district.

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Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested two robbers dressed as women who flirted with an Australian man and snatched his phone in the backpackers’ area on Friday.

The men, 29 and 41, drove a motorbike and approached the victim, who was walking on Pham Ngu Lao Street in District 1 early in the morning, police said.

One of them started walking alongside the foreigner, groped him and then snatched the phone from his pocket.

The duo quickly fled on their motorbike, but they were caught by police soon later.

Both admitted that they had used the same trick on many male tourists walking in the area.

Ho Chi Minh City is a popular destination among foreign visitors. While the city is generally believed to be safe, street crimes targeting foreigners have remained an issue.

Foreign arrivals to Ho Chi Minh City increased 12.2 percent from a year ago to more than 2.43 million in the first six months, according to the city’s tourism department.

A September survey by MasterCard named the city among 20 fastest-growing tourist cities in the world since 2009, with 9.22 percent annual growth.