Police in the northern province of Bac Ninh have arrested a man after he robbed VND200 million ($8,800) at a local bank at knifepoint on Tuesday.
Lo Van Soa, 23, wore face mask as he entered a branch of the Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank on Tuesday afternoon, pressing a fruit knife against a customer as a teller handed the cash to her.
He browbeat her into putting the money into his bag before fleeing on a motorbike, according to the police.
As employees at the bank cried for help, a group of crime police stationed down the street ran after him. They chased him down shortly after a 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour ride.
During questioning, the suspect said he worked as driver for a company but has been fallen in debts due to gambling losses.
Cash recovered from a bank heist which used a fruit knife (pictured) in Bac Ninh Province on Tuesday. Photo by Phuong Thuy |
Bank robberies have occurred more often in Vietnam than they used to, although each case just involves a single individual.
A masked man carried a gun and robbed money worth $9,100 from a bank in the southern province Vinh Long on September 27. Media reports two days later said he was a military officer who had killed himself, but no confirmation has been made from official sources.
On September 1, a man allegedly robbed a bank in Dong Nai Province neighboring Saigon with a fake bomb and managed to escape with nearly $900. Police are still tracking him down.
Also last month, a court in Tra Vinh in southern Vietnam sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for using an air gun to steal a sum worth $88,000 from a bank in May.