HANOI (VnEXpress/Vietnam News): Police in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Ward have fined a street vendor VND1.2 million (US$47) for verbally abusing a tour guide for cautioning foreign tourists about her overpriced handheld fans.
The police on Thursday said they had penalized the vendor and warned her against repeat offenses.
The incident took place on the afternoon of Nov. 8 near Hoan Kiem Lake, where tour guide Nguyen Tri Minh was waiting for a vehicle with a group of 18 foreign tourists.
The vendor approached the group and offered the fans at VND100,000 ($4) each.
Feeling the quality did not warrant the steep price, Minh advised his guests to pay no more than VND50,000 for two.
Hearing this, the vendor started abusing him and physically confronted him for several minutes.
Printed paper fans typically sell for VND20,000 to 30,000 on local e-commerce platforms.
Minh posted a video of the quarrel on his personal social media page, and quickly drew widespread attention.
Many viewers commented that such behavior hurts Vietnam's appeal to visitors.
"I understand street vendors are just trying to make a living, but aggressive behavior like this damages Vietnam's image as a tourist destination," Minh said.
The Hoan Kiem police have dealt with several similar cases of gouging tourists and aggressive solicitation this year.
On June 10, a vendor was fined VND225,000 and ordered to clearly display prices after charging foreign tourists VND430,000 for 10 fried donuts, more than four times the normal price.
In February, a motorbike taxi driver was fined and forced to refund after deviating from his route and demanding VND1 million from an American tourist. -- VnEXpress/Vietnam News
