Two young women (central and right) were detained and taken to police by local people in Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Lake on September 6 for allegedly cheating visitors with their charitable toothpick selling scam.
Police in Hoan Kiem District on September 7 said that the two women were held by local people on Wednesday afternoon while selling toothpicks around Hoan Kiem Lake.
"They were found overcharging tourists at VND500,000-700,000 (USD22-31) for each toothpick pack with their charitable toothpick selling scam," a police report said.
The two came from My Duc District and one of them had earlier been fined for the same scam.
"Their actions have badly affected the image of Hanoi people among visitors," police said. "We have asked the two women to report about their work and write a commitment saying they will not do that again."
A clip posted on several social networks on September 6 showed two young women being held by several people for allegedly overcharging visitors when selling toothpicks. The two girls were seen crying while admitting their wrongdoings and begging to be released.
The women were taken to police station.
