The decision was made after the HCM City’s Police Department submitted a document defined the responsibilities of each individual in the prosecution against Nguyen Van Tan, owner of the Xin Chao coffee shop in Binh Chanh District, said Director of the department Lieutenant General Le Dong Phong.

The ministry will suspend Colonel Nguyen Van Quy, head of the Binh Chanh District police division and Nguyen Hoang Tuan, deputy head of economic management division of the district and will consider the punishment for several police officers who participated in the investigation.

Nguyen Van Tan, ower of Xin Chao coffee shop

Meanwhile, Le Thanh Tong, deputy chief of the People’s Procuracy in District 6, who signed the prosecution decision and Ho Van Son and procurator at People’s Procuracy in Binh Chanh District who partook in the legal proceedings, have been also temporarily suspended from work.

The coffee owner was prosecuted on January 25 by district’s procurator for illegally conducting business.

However, Tan told Dan Tri on April 19 that he had no idea why he was facing a criminal charge when he the only error he had made operating his business for five days from August 8, 2015, before his business licence arrived.

Just a month into the opening, the café selling breakfast, lunch and coffee was inspected by officers from the police station opposite twice for lacking paperwork, leading to them pursuing the case against Tan on September 25.

On March 11, 2016, the district’s procuracy issued an indictment against Tan for illegally conducting business and he was scheduled to stand trial on April 28.

The case resulted in a huge public outcry. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc also asked HCM City People's Committee Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong to stop the prosecution.

In an interview with the Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper, Tan has wondered if the vendetta stems from the competition his café would have offered to the police canteen.