Hanoi police and standards inspectors have uncovered their biggest case of petrol-station cheating to date.
Nguyen The Loc, director of the enterprise in Co Nhue commune, Hanoi's Tu Liem district, allegedly admitted installing an illegal electronic chip to defraud customers in May this year.
It is estimated that he cheated them of a total of about 15 million VND (780 USD) every month for about three months.
On July 27, Hanoi police and standards inspectors from the Department of Science and Technology discovered the petrol station used the chip to alter the petrol-pump meter.
The petrol station, run by Hoang Xuan Loc private enterprise, used the chip to rig the display of prices and fuel quantities, said Deputy Chief Inspector Nguyen Tuan from the municipal Department of Science and Technology.
The fraud enabled the station to sell less gas than displayed on the pump screen, and pocket the difference - about 7.5 percent of every sale.
"Using a standard measuring device, inspectors found that customers lost 0.748 of a litre per 10 litres of petrol, " he said.
"An underground wire connected the chip to a computer in the station's controlling room, making it difficult for customers to discover," Tuan said.
In August last year, the station received a certificate stating that its fuel measurement complied with the requirements of the Vietnam Standards Centre.
The fuel station has been banned from operation until further investigations are completed./.
Nguyen The Loc, director of the enterprise in Co Nhue commune, Hanoi's Tu Liem district, allegedly admitted installing an illegal electronic chip to defraud customers in May this year.
It is estimated that he cheated them of a total of about 15 million VND (780 USD) every month for about three months.
On July 27, Hanoi police and standards inspectors from the Department of Science and Technology discovered the petrol station used the chip to alter the petrol-pump meter.
The petrol station, run by Hoang Xuan Loc private enterprise, used the chip to rig the display of prices and fuel quantities, said Deputy Chief Inspector Nguyen Tuan from the municipal Department of Science and Technology.
The fraud enabled the station to sell less gas than displayed on the pump screen, and pocket the difference - about 7.5 percent of every sale.
"Using a standard measuring device, inspectors found that customers lost 0.748 of a litre per 10 litres of petrol, " he said.
"An underground wire connected the chip to a computer in the station's controlling room, making it difficult for customers to discover," Tuan said.
In August last year, the station received a certificate stating that its fuel measurement complied with the requirements of the Vietnam Standards Centre.
The fuel station has been banned from operation until further investigations are completed./.
