In a letter sent from Australia to Vietnam, Paul Threlfall and his wife said they appreciated the assistance of the voluntary officers as, if they had not appeared, the couple would have lost their properties, adding that they wanted to express their appreciation to the volunteers.

The two volunteers Mr. Paul mentioned are not police, but two members of the tourism order team under BESCO. Not only assisting tourists in finding roads and hotels, the team does not hesitate to face criminals and re-take properties from them for tourists.

Sai Gon Giai Phong (Saigon Liberation) newspaper reported that in 2016, Nguyen Huu Dinh and Dang Thanh Xuan were on duty in a bus station in district 1 when they saw a thief robbing a mobile phone from a tourist’s hand. Mr. Dinh and Ms Xuan immediately gave chase and successfully arrested the robber, returning the criminal and the phone to Nguyen Thai Binh ward, district 1, and instructing the tourist to report the case.

Similarly, Nguyen Thi Truc Phuong and Ho Ngoc Dat were standing at Independence Hall when they saw a robber driving his motorbike on the pavement, snatching the handbag and mobile phone of a pedestrian. When the victim shouted loudly, Ms Phuong ran to and cut in ahead of the escaping robber, and kick the robber and made his motorbike underground. However, the robber successfully re-controlled the vehicle and escaped again. Mr Dat ran and followed the robber through the 30-4 Park across Pasteur Road. The robber hid the motorbike in a small alley, intending to escape in a house. When Mr. Dat and surrounding people reached to the house, the robber took a cane and beat the group of people and used an injection needle to threaten the people. However, thanks to the support from surrounding people, Mr. Dat successfully subdued the robber and brought him to the police.

“Studying and following Uncle Ho’s teachings, each member of BESCO registers to serve people without shrinking from difficulties,” said Le Minh Hoa, Deputy Head of the Ho Chi Minh city voluntary youth forces. “Of which, maintaining the beautiful image of the city named after the beloved Uncle Ho is a target that the members look forward to.”

BTA (Source: SGGP)