Duong Van Manh, 26, caught the eye of alert cops as he drove his motorbike in District 1 Tuesday night, occasionally increasing and decreasing his speed and driving close to pedestrians. They suspected he was looking for targets to steal from.
And on Hai Ba Trung Street, Manh turned his bike around after he spotted a South Korean man walking and taking a call on his cellphone. Driving in the opposite lane, Manh jerked the visitor's phone off his hand and raced away. The cops gave chase, cornered him in an alley and arrested him.
They also returned the phone to the owner.
Petty theft and taxi scams are among the problems that nag Ho Chi Minh City's growing tourism sector, which received more than seven million foreign visitors last year, a 20 percent year-on-year increase.