A clip showing the incident sparked off debate over the woman’s behaviour. 

  Two foreign tourists were charged by a local woman to take a photo at a lake in the northern city of Haiphong

The clip shows two female foreigners were taking photos on a floating raft at a lake in Thuy Nguyen District’s An Son Commune. An elderly woman is seen approaching them as they take photos of the lake that has become a tourist attraction after it suddenly changed colour last year to bright blue.

The woman demanded they pay VND10,000 (45.5 cents) for taking photos. She said that it was her lake and her floating raft, so, they had to pay the fees to visit. If they do not pay the VND10,000, she threatened to damage their vehicle. She even used a scarf to hit the traveller who was taking photos. 

She even used a scarf to hit the traveller who was taking photos 

One of the two foreigners called for help and one passer-by tried to explain to the woman that they did not have Vietnamese money and just wanted to take some photos there and then would leave in some minutes. But, the woman did not agree. She then rushed at the visitor, grabbing her clothes and continued threatening her.

The travellers felt upset by the woman’s behaviour and then left.

Cao Van Chi, vice chairman of An Son Commune, admitted that the case occurred in the locality on January 22. He added that the lake is near a quarry, so local authorities warned people not to go there to avoid possible dangers. The foreigners might not have known about this, so they still went there.

He said that there were no charges for visiting the site and that the local woman in the clip was the owner of a nearby water stall. Her family built the floating raft on the lake without receiving permission.

According to Chi, local authorities would remove the raft and deal with illegal business services at the area.

After being published on the internet, many people said the woman’s behaviour had affected the country’s image.