The cyclo driver who claimed VND1.3 million for 5km of road.

At noon on April 23, Mrs. Ilona Schultz, an Australian and her two children paid a visit to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. At around 11 am, a cyclo driver invited her to use his service and Mrs. Schultz agreed. 

She asked the driver about the price for the journey from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to the Thang Long Water Puppetry Theatre on Dinh Tien Hoang Street. The driver agreed with the price of VND70,000 ($3.5). 

After leaving the mausoleum, the cyclo driver did not take the passengers to the water puppetry theatre but to Hang Trong Street and asked the passenger to pay.

"I gave him a VND200,000 banknote but he shook his head. Then I gave him three more banknotes of the same value, plus a VND500,000 so he accepted," said Mrs. Schultz. She and her kids walked to the water puppetry theatre. 

The passenger explained that she gave him VND1.3 million because she thought that the cyclo service was offered by a company. Moreover, she was accompanied by two children so she did not want to get trouble.

She said it was the first time she was treated that way. Previously, cyclo and taxi drivers were all very friendly and enthusiastic.

Mr. Do Anh Thu, Director of the Sanssouci Cyclo Company confirmed that that cyclo driver is not his staff but an illegal cyclo service provider.

Hanoi has more than 200 cyclos of three companies and all cyclos have number plates. The cyclos that do not have a number plate means that the company name is fake.

According to Thu, the charge for the journey from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to the Thang Long Water Puppetry Theater is normally from VND70,000 to VND100,000 ($3.5-5), including the waiting time at shops. 

"If he claimed VND1.3 million for that trip, it is too expensive. That act will harm the image of Hanoi’s tourism in general and Hanoi’s cyclo service in particular," Thu said.

On April 24, being informed by an online newspaper about the act of the cyclo driver, who often parks on Le Hong Phong road, Dien Bien ward, the local police summoned the driver to the police station.

At the police station, driver Pham Van Chieu, 40, from Nam Dinh province admitted to take VND1.3 million from the Australian passenger.

"For that route, I usually charge a few hundred thousand dong, but this time I had to work in the midday sun, so I was very tired and I asked for such amount," he explained. He promised to return the money to the passenger. 

The police of Dien Bien ward said that they were waiting for the victim to report the incident to launch official investigation.

According to a police officer, that act can be charged for taking property of others by force. The police will rely on the victim's report to consider the level of violation to have specific measures.

Vietnamnet