Foreigners deported from HCMC for painting graffiti

The foreigners, aged 24 and 28, have also been fined VND25 million ($990) for unauthorized activities, the police said.

On July 22, as a police team was patrolling along Pho Duc Chinh Street in the downtown district, they saw two men painting graffiti on the roller door of a house. Authorities then seized 23 paint cans from the men, and brought them to a police station.

Authorities said the men stayed in two hotels, one on Nguyen Thai Binh and the other on Suong Nguyet Anh streets, but they did not register with authorities for temporary residence. The men said they got acquainted to one another on social media, and decided to meet up and paint graffiti in public spaces, before uploading photos on social media.

HCMC citizens have been reporting several cases of foreigners painting graffiti onto the walls in downtown HCMC. Last month, police of District 1 also fined a 28-year-old man from New Zealand for painting graffiti, and forced him to repaint the walls.