Archived News: Crime in Mui Ne & Phan Thiet
22.02.11 Two Russian Kiteboarding Instructors, Igor Pankov (age 42) and Elena Kostenko (age 34) have been accused of stealing crocodile handbags from the Shop at Vietnam Home Restaurant, by the local Ham Tien (Mui Ne) police department. The theft occurred on February 21 this year, and was clearly caught on the shops security camera. According to the Binh Thuan newspaper, local police say that the couple have been uncooperative with the investigation and deny the allegations.
26.02.11 We received a report this week from a local expat who visited Hoa Vien Brewhouse and had their cell phone stolen by a waiter. The next day the waiter began sending text messages to a contact on the phone, demanding $100 for return of the phone. Unfortunately this thievery is not uncommon in Mui Ne now and is showing signs that it is being orchestrated by gangs.
Restaurants like Hoa Vien must take responsibility for crimes by their employees, for not only the sake of their own reputation, but the overall good of the community. We must stomp out this sort of behavior and not allow it to take root in Mui Ne. Mui Ne is not Vung Tau or Nha Trang, or worse—Ho Chi Minh City. Mui Ne is better than that.
Though harsh, It is the recommendation of MuiNeBeach.net that all waiters servicing that area should be fined a minimum of the value of the telephone to repay the victim. Hoa Vien should also fire one or more of the waiters servicing the area, or the on-duty captain. This is in fact the policy of other more responsible restaurants in Mui Ne, and would deter further crimes.
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