The Fake Cop in Ho Chi Minh City has been operating around Saigon for well over two years now, getting away with crime after crime and quite frankly, it’s time he was stopped. He started in the Bui Vien area but in recent weeks moved areas and is currently working in District 2, In and around the Hanoi Highway Area.
He tried to get me two weeks ago, and I didn’t put two and two together. I just didn’t realize it was the same guy that people had been talking about until the relative of a friend lost a motorbike and money to him last week. He rode up next to name as I came off the highway and started speaking in English. He said he was working with the American police, which was clearly nonsense. He asked me to stop and I refused. He got really aggressive shouting and riding very close to me. I accelerated away, rode quickly under the bridge into Thao Dien and dived into The Thao Dien Man Cave, where I knew I would be among friends.
How to spot the Fake Cop in Ho Chi Minh City
It was more than a week later when I realized how close I had come. He claims to carry a gun, though that is highly unlikely. It is though to be considered when tackling him. He does, however, have accomplices. If he gets you in a quiet spot, the chances are they will be waiting.
Do not stop for this guy no matter what. Get to a place where there are plenty of expats. Even if you mistake a real cop for the Fake Cop in Ho Chi Minh City, there is not much they will do anyway. Speaking of the police not doing much; this has gone on for about 30 months or more now. It is a time that the police DID do something. It cannot be that difficult to find a criminal, who already has a criminal record, whose photograph is all over the internet and whose M.O. means that he works in the same areas night after night. A personal plea to the Ho Chi Minh City police here. This guy is preying on expats and tourists. He is damaging Vietnam’s good name and the tourist industry. It is in your interest as well as ours to stop him.
The police do have a website, maybe a few personal pleas here will get things moving, you’ll need a Vietnamese speaker to assist you.
There is a facebook group that has been set up to spread information about him, such is the blatant way in which he operates. You will find the facebook page here. The group has over 1200 members. The guy must have a death wish because tempers are running very high and it is clearly only a matter of time before he picks on the wrong guy. Someone surely will just knock him off his bike and run over him. Not that I’m advocating violence, you understand!
If you see him, phone the police immediately. Together we can stop the Fake Cop in Ho Chi Minh City.