After spending more than a month in Ho Chi Minh City and running out of money, Canadian national Jang Jae Bin resorted to armed robbery, targeting pedestrians with a knife.

On March 12, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Jang Jae Bin, 24, to seven years in prison for “robbery.”

From tourist to criminal

According to the indictment, Jang Jae Bin entered Vietnam on January 12, 2024, as a tourist. However, after more than a month in Ho Chi Minh City, he ran out of money and decided to commit robbery.

On the afternoon of February 17, 2024, he drove to Dang Dai Do Street in Tan Phong Ward, District 7, searching for a victim.

Spotting Canadian national Alanna Beth Burke walking her dog, he approached her, brandished a switchblade, and forcibly took her mobile phone.

The following day, Jang Jae Bin returned to the same area and targeted another foreigner, Wener Zimmer. As Zimmer walked from a park to a tennis court, Jang Jae Bin pretended to ask for his phone to make a call and check a map.

When Zimmer refused, Jang Jae Bin pulled out his knife again and snatched the phone. However, his crime was immediately noticed by a patrolling police unit in District 7, who subdued and arrested him on the spot.

A desperate act with costly consequences

An official valuation determined that the two stolen phones were worth a total of VND 5.4 million ($215).

Investigations revealed that Jang Jae Bin was unemployed. He had lived in South Korea as a child before moving to Canada with his family in 2008.

Thanh Phuong