Hanoi Police have arrested eight people who involved in scamming huge numbers of customers at two petrol stations in the city.
The arrested included owners of the two stations, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh of Tran Khat Chan station and Tranh Thanh Trinh of Yen Vien station and six staff at Tran Khat Chan station.
The two petrol stations at 436 Tran Khat Chan Street and in Yen Vien Commune were found on December 24 to be using an electronic chip to defraud customers.
According to the market management team, the chip rigged the display of fuel prices and quantities. The petrol station employees controlled the chip from a distance, enabling them to sell less petrol than the quantity displayed on the pump screen, and to pocket about eight per cent of every sale.
"Using a standard measuring device, inspectors found that customers were getting only 19 litres of petrol while paying for 20 litres," the management team said.
The 2000sq.m petrol station in Yen Vien Commune was inaugurated in May 2015 by the Hanoi Petrol Fuel Company (HFC) and is selling some 300cu.m of petrol every month.
According to the information published on the website of the company, it has 17 shops and 3,000 employees.
The company has sold 88,000cu.m of petrol so far this year. In November 2015, it was the only company in petrol business in the city to be honoured for its quality.
The two fuel stations have been suspended from operating until further investigations are completed.
