Police in the central province of Ha Tinh on June 9 arrested three men and charged them with stealing property from factories and the construction site belonging to the Hung Nghiep Formosa company in Vung Ang Economic Zone.

Police in Duc Tho district arrested Dang Anh Hung, 23 in Duc Chau commune on suspicion of theft. Hung confessed to taking advantage of disturbances in the zone on May 14 to steal assets from enterprise.

Meanwhile, Cam Xuyen district police captured Trinh Xuan Canh, 32, and Nguyen Huu An, 30, in Cam Quan commune and charged them with committing similar acts. The two allegedly mingled with crowds in the zone protesting against China’s illegal placement of a drilling rig in Vietnam’s waters, before looting from the site.

Earlier, Duc Tho police seized several stolen items found in the house of Le Thai Tuyen in Duc Dong commune. These were believed to have been passed to him by Nguyen Chi Thanh from Bao Loc district, Lam Dong province and Pham Van Chat from Quynh Luu, central Nghe An province, after the duo stole them on the night of May 14.

Anti-China parades on May 14 tuned violent, when some people took advantage of the situation to set fire to the houses and workplaces of foreign workers and loot company assets, machinery and other equipment. The Formosa company was particularly affected.

The province mobilised 600 police and military officers to disperse the crowds and take foreign workers to safe places.

The local authorities have returned stolen assets to enterprises operating in the zone, while the provincial police is also continuing its investigations to reclaim the stolen property.-VNA