Phan Van Chien seen in a security camera image at a shopping mall in the HCMC district on January 21, 2024 and during his arrest by police on February 29, 2024. Police photo
HCMC police arrested a man claiming to be from a once-wealthy family after he stole jewelry and designer wallets worth VND3 billion ($122,000) from a downtown shopping mall.
Pham Van Chien, 32, is under investigation for “theft of property,” police said Thursday.
According to police, Chien wore fashionable designer clothes and visited Tiffany & Co and Hermes stores at a District 1 shopping center on January 21.
At the Tiffany & Co store, he asked staff to see luxury jewelry and was invited to the VIP corner.
He kept asking for information about the products and as a female employee turned away to get him more jewelry, he grabbed three bracelets worth a total of VND2.6 billion and put them in a paper bag that he carried with him.
Then he found an excuse to leave the store to receive a phone call and fled.
A few days later, he returned to the same shopping center and visited an Hermès store.
He used the same trick, asking staff to present him with the most expensive wallets and clutches.
He then stole two clutches and a wallet which cost a total of 450 million VND.
After both stores reported the crime, District 1 police pulled security camera footage and identified Chien as the prime suspect.
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Branded products stolen by Pham Van Chien and seized by HCMC police. Photo taken by the police |
In custody, Chien admitted to stealing from both stores and returned all the products he had taken to the police.
He told police he came from a wealthy family and had become accustomed to using luxury brand products.
Lately, his family’s business has declined, prompting him to steal from them.
He added that he was going to sell the products to get money for his daily expenses.
