Police in Thua Thien-Hue province are still on the hunt for an armed robber who stole VND700 million (US$30,835) from a Hue bank on Tuesday.
According to Zing, the incident occurred around 5pm on December 6 while bank employees were busy counting and collecting money. The masked individual walked into the bank, brandished a gun and demanded money from the employees of a BIDV branch located on Mai Thuc Loan Street.
With VND700 million in hand, the robber fled on a motorbike, however this is where the story gets inconsistent. Zing reports there were two men involved in the heist while Tuoi Tre quotes Colonel Dang Ngoc Son, deputy provincial police chief of the Thua Thien-Hue police force, as saying only one suspect was involved.
The reason for this confusion, Tuoi Tre elaborates, is because a bank employee alerted local residents to the robbery as the thief fled, claiming there were two culprits; another bank employee later stated there was only one masked thief involved.
Either way, someone pursued the thief for a brief period after he fled the scene – Tuoi Tre reports it may have been a bank employee who gave chase – before letting the robber go because he had a gun. Though Tuoi Tre makes no mention of shots being fired, Zing reports that the the robber fired two shots at the person who pursued him. Though the shots missed, this prompted the man to end his chase.
Colonel Son also confirmed, according to both news outlets, that the weapon in question was actually a compressed gas BB gun and not a real firearm, however bank employees did not realize this at the time. The two sources also note that Thua Thien-Hue police are going through the bank’s surveillance footage in an effort to identify the robber.
Video via VTC.
By evening, as police officers swarmed the scene of the heist, a crowd gathered outside to watch the action, reports Zing. According to VTC, a review of the bank's surveillance footage revealed the thief wore a black jacket, helmet and face mask to conceal his identity. He was tall and thin in stature and also carried a black bag in which to put the cash.
Though no suspects are in custody, Colonel Son confirmed with Tuoi Tre that the entire provincial police force has been mobilized to hunt for the culprit.
[Photo via Tuoi Tre]
