Cab drivers demoralized by murder, string of robberies

A group of cab drivers were huddled together, still stunned by the death of their colleague, Nguyen Van Chi, who was murdered on Sunday.

“The fare he was owed was VND230,000. That is how much a cab driver’s life is worth,” a depressed and angry Hoang Dinh Huy, deputed to manage the Vinasun parking lot in De Nhat Hotel, told Thanh Nien.

“While we are still worrying about the recovery of another colleague whose neck was cut badly by a robber last week, this murder is another blow to our already low morale,” said driver Nguyen Thai Chau.

“I may stop working on shift nights. I am afraid I could be the next victim,” he added.

“While the income is just enough for us to make ends meet, the deteriorating security has added to the woes of cab drivers,” said Huy.

The murder of Vinasun’s Nguyen Van Chi is the latest – and worst – of a spate of robberies involving taxi drivers.

At midnight last Sunday, 15-year-old Nguyen Hong Nhut and 24-year-old Tran Van Nghiep asked Chi to take them from Thu Duc District to Le Thuc Hoach Street in Tan Phu District.

When they arrived at the destination at around 1 a.m., Nghiep, sitting behind Chi, pressed a knife to the taxi driver’s neck to overpower him.

Nhut repeatedly stabbed Chi’s hip and belly with a knife until the driver collapsed on the steering wheel, and the miscreants then made off with a cell phone and VND1 million.

Around the same time, Tan Phu District’s Phu Tho Hoa police on a routine patrol saw two men with bloody clothes being chased by some residents.

The police and residents were soon able to apprehend the fleeing men.

Earlier on August 28, another Vinasun taxi driver, Le Van Khang, was attacked by a passenger on the way to Thu Duc District’s Linh Trung Ward from the Thu Duc Preventive Health Center in Linh Tay Ward.

The passenger slashed Khang’s neck with a knife and fled after struggling for a while against the driver’s resistance.

Khang then drove himself to the Quan Dan Mien Dong Hospital in neighboring District 9 where doctors say he could have died from severe blood loss if he had arrived just a few minutes later.

So far this year Vinasun-run cabs have fallen prey to five or six robberies with one fatality, said Ta Long Hy, deputy chief of Vinasun.

Other cab firms have also been plagued by blatant robberies, Hy added.

He said the company has paid VND20 million (US$1,200) for Chi’s funeral expenses, and is planning long-term support for his wife and two kids, aged 9 and 11.

Chi’s family still owes around VND300 million($18,000) that they used to buy a house in Thu Duc District.

Chi’s body has been sent to his hometown in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Hy said Vinasun is considering installing an iron frame around the cab driver’s seat for protection.

But this would be applied only to seven-seat taxis.

The management would meet with its cab drivers soon to discuss ways to improve surveillance and safety, Hy said.

Not isolated incidents

Speaking with Thanh Nien Tuesday, many Vinasun cab drivers recounted their own experiences when they were on the verge of being robbed or hurt seriously.

They only escaped because they were careful and there was timely intervention from the police.

They said cab drivers had to be vigilant about clients who asked the taxis to roam in many areas for a long time without stopping.

In such instances, they should refuse such requests, and park their cabs in crowded areas in case they need help from the public, they added.

Reported by Nguyen Le Nguyen