According to residents, the male monkey weighing about 12 kilos often appeared on Road TL29 in Thanh Loc Ward and climbed onto house roofs and trees looking for food.

On February 12, the animal ran into the house of Hoang Nghia Canh to look for food. When Canh's wife tried to drive it away, it bit her in the arms.

Then on February 17, the monkey attacked another woman, Nguyen Thi Thoan, 58, when she brought it some fruits.

"It bit me on one of my legs," Thoan said. "I had to go to hospital for a rabies vaccination."

After that, the monkey bit two other people in the area, who also had to be vaccinated afterwards.

Receiving the information, the HCM City Forest Protection Department sent a team to look for the monkey over the past two days.

The department also received two long-tailed monkeys weighing 5.40 kilos and 11.50 kilos on Friday. The monkeys have the scientific name of Macaca nemestrina and are listed among the rare and endangered species.

Last month, the HCM City Forest Protection Department caught a long-tailed monkey which caused chaos in a residential area in Nha Be District.

The monkey weighed around 7 kilos has the scientific name of Macaca fascicularis and is listed among the rare and endangered species. It was brought to Cu Chi Rare Animal Rescue Centre to be cared for before being released into the wild.