Saigon taxi driver arrested for extorting money from Korean tourist

Truong To Chung, 55, was detained based on video footage captured by the victim’s friend showing the driver had charged them more than 30 times the metered fee.

Truong To Chung, 55, is held at police station for overcharging, stealing $215 from South Korean tourist. Photo by VnExpress/Quoc Thang

When a taxi that Fan Jining, 36, and his friend had taken from the War Remnants Museum in District 3 to the city center broke down midway Wednesday, they got off and took Chung’s car.

When the taxi stopped at Cong Quynh Street in District 1, the meter read VND14,000 ($0.60) but the driver asked the South Koreans to pay VND400,000 ($17.21).

However, Fan refused and insisted on paying the meter fare. As he tried to pay, Chung grabbed ten VND500,000 notes from his hand. Fan began shouting, but the driver used an iron bar to threaten him and fled.

Fan’s friend had filmed the incident on his mobile phone, and they reported the robbery to the police.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest metropolis, is one of the most visited destinations in the country, with seven million foreigners arriving in the first 11 months of 2018.

Taxi scams are less frequent than they used to be, but foreigners are still targeted by unscrupulous drivers in certain areas.