Police search for owner of HCM City restaurant over US$30k card fraud
A notice has been posted by District 1 Police in Ho Chi Minh City on October 26 in the search for the owner of a restaurant which in August was accused of cheating an Australian diner out of AUD39,429 (nearly US$30,000).
The Australian man, Caracciolo David John, dined at Nightfall restaurant on Thai Van Lung Street in District 1 on August 11, where the restaurant staff deliberately swiped both of his payment cards and asked him to enter his PIN code multiple times, claiming there was an error with the card reading device.
The man did not discover the fraud until after he had returned to Australia and received an account statement from the bank.
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| Tran Thi Hong Phuong |
On October 26, District 1 Police posted a notice in the search for Tran Thi Hong Phuong, 37, also known as Trang, the owner of the restaurant and a temporary resident of the Pham Viet Chanh Apartment building in Binh Thanh District, who is wanted in connection to the fraud.
Authorities have not been able to make contact with Phuong, and her restaurant has also closed down since the incident.
Police investigations revealed that the Nightfall restaurant was opened in late 2012, and was represented legally by a man named Tran Tuan Minh from Ben Tre Province. Its business was terminated in September of this year and the location has been taken over by a bar.
Minh told the police that he was Phuong’s brother and did not have anything to do with the restaurant’s operations, given he was only asked by his sister to represent the restaurant under the law.
Those with knowledge of Phuong’s whereabouts can leave a tip with District 1 police investigator Tran Dinh Huy (Mr) at +84 989 022 060
