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Police of downtown District 1 on Sunday fined the 23-year-old man, whose name was not disclosed, for illegally using the street and sidewalk to rent hoverboards and for selling goods of unclear origin, in accordance with the Road Traffic Law and a government decree.
The man received the fine after he was found charging the American streamer, who has nearly 30 million followers on social media, VND1 million ($41) for a five-minute hoverboard rental on Nguyen Hue a day earlier.
Through an interpreter, the streamer expressed interest in renting a hoverboard from the vendor. The vendor first quoted a price of $100. Although hesitant, IShowSpeed eventually handed over VND1 million and rode the hoverboard for about five minutes.
The incident was broadcast live on his YouTube channel, which had nearly 170,000 viewers at the time. Many viewers commented that the rental price was excessively high, noting that hoverboard rentals typically cost only VND50,000 ($2) for 15 minutes.
As the case gained attention on social media, local police summoned the man for questioning.
During the investigation, the man admitted that he usually brought three hoverboards to Nguyen Hue pedestrian street for rent and had quoted a price of $100 per hour to foreigners.
Le Nguyen Viet Nam, vice chairman of Ben Nghe Ward in District 1, said that on Sunday morning, a ward representative accompanied the violator to the hotel where IShowSpeed was staying to return the money.
"The streamer accepted the apology, stating that the incident did not affect him personally," Nam said.
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., is a 19-year-old streamer known for posting videos about his life and interactions with world-famous people. He arrived in Vietnam on Sept. 13 for tourism and to attend media events.
Nguyen Hue pedestrian street, over 670 meters long, stretches from the HCMC People's Committee headquarters to Bach Dang Wharf Park by the Saigon River. It frequently hosts major cultural and artistic events and is a popular attraction for both local and foreign visitors.
