HCM City: Gold traders arm themselves against robbers

16:45' 02/07/2007 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge - Worried about becoming targets of robbers, many gold shops in HCM City have equipped themselves with bullet-proof glass, tear-gas sprayers, cameras, sticks… “We have recently invested nearly VND50 million to install cameras, safe boxes in our shop but we are still very worried that one day robbers may come to the shop,” said Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, the owner of the Huyen gold shop in Binh Thanh district, HCM City. Ms Huyen said that she had taken over this shop from her parents ten years prior but it was not until 2003, when the first gold shop robbery occurred in the Ngoc Ha gold shop in Tan Binh district, killing one person, did she first hire guards. As several gold-shop robberies have happened in HCM City in the last two months, Ms Huyen now hires three guards as well as installed bullet-proof glass, tear-gas sprayers, CO2 sprayers in the shop. Previously, she often took gold to her house but now she uses safe boxes to keep gold at the shop, which is protected by guards and her husband as well. However, she is still afraid that if robbers came, guards could not use those weapons in time. Three robberies at gold shops in HCM City in the past two months have stirred gold traders in HCM City. Worrying that they will be the next targets of robbers, many shop owners have bought weapons. Do Hoai Thanh, an owner of a gold shop in Tan Binh District, revealed that he and some of his colleagues, whose gold shops are near each other, had been cooperating to prevent robberies. They now carry gold together and hire guards to protect gold. They also share the same alarm system. With only one press of the button, all of those shops are alarmed. The Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC), which opened the first bonded gold warehouse in Vietnam last week, has spent a lot of money for security. Transportation of gold from the airport to the bonded warehouse and from the warehouse to goods delivery places is carried out by armoured cars by Brink’s Global Services Company. All equipment of the bonded gold warehouse is imported. The warehouse doors are opened under the principle that only when the outer door is closed, the inner door can be opened. SJC Director Nguyen Thanh Long, therefore, believes that the first bonded gold warehouse in the south is very safe and meets international standards for security. However, gold traders in some central districts are not afraid much about robberies as they believe that robbers don’t dare to act in the hub of the city. State agencies, meanwhile, have also warned gold shops to be vigilant for robbers. (Source: Viet Nam New)