Prison warden to be charged with robbing gold shops

Provincial police said investigations established that the 38-year-old prison warden used a rifle to rob gold shops in Dong Ba Market and threw the gold on the street, shouting “Gold for the poor.”

Quoc’s motive for the strange behavior is being “clarified,” police said.

Colonel Duong Van Thoan, Chief of Staff of the Public Security Department of Thua Thien-Hue Province, denied that Quoc was feeling down in life and disillusioned with work.

Quoc had tested negative for narcotics at the time the robbery was committed.

At around 12:30 p.m. on July 31, he took an AK47 rifle to the gold shops at Dong Ba Market, threatened the staff and shot at the glass shelves where gold items were displayed.

He took the gold items and threw them into the street for people to pick, according to eyewitnesses at the shops and the market.

He repeated the stunt for about 10 minutes before leaving the scene and walking along Tran Hung Dao Street in front of the market to reach the Trinh Cong Son Park.

As he left the market, many people rushed to the scene to collect the gold.

Around 2 p.m., the suspect dropped his gun and surrendered after about 15 minutes of discussion with local police.

Authorities have taken Quoc into custody and asked the public to hand over the gold that Quoc had thrown onto the street.