Australian couple pickpocketed on Saigon festival street

The robbery happened last Sunday when an Australian man, identified only as Josh, and his family were walking along the caligraphy lane that has opened for the Lunar New Year season on Pham Ngoc Thach Street in District 1.

After talking with some reporters at the site, Josh discovered that his handbag had been slit, but he hadn’t lost anything fortunately.

However, his wife Ana Andreu found that her cell phone was missing. The family reported the incident to local police and provided video footage of a man standing close to them and acting suspiciously.

The Australian family authorized the hotel where they stayed in HCMC to follow up on the incident after they left the city on Monday.

Ana said she felt sad at losing the phone which contained many photos she took of Vietnam and her family.

HCMC, Vietnam's largest metropolis, which received more than seven million foreign arrivals last year, is one of the most visited destinations in the country.

However, increasing complaints about street crime are sullying its image.

Vietnam welcomed 396,984 Australian visitors last year, up 4 percent from a year ago. The country has tried to relax its entrance procedures with an e-visa policy which is now available to people from 46 countries, with Australians added late in 2017.