Police confirm clip of pickpocketing at hospital was fabricated, will deal with profiteer

At the police station, Ho Thi Xuan confessed that the information about being pickpocketed by 2 people at the gate of Children's Hospital 2 as shown in the clip that has been causing a stir on social networks in recent days is not true.

Today (February 13), the working group of District 1 Police, Ho Chi Minh City coordinated with Ea O Commune Police, Ea Kar District, Dak Lak Province to invite Ho Thi Xuan (38 years old, residing in Group 4, Cat Tien Town, Da Huoai District, Lam Dong Province) to work.

So far, authorities have clarified the details related to the clip of Xuan holding her child, crying and calling for help from the online community because her pocket was pickpocketed in front of the Examination Department, Children's Hospital 2, Ho Chi Minh City.

The real happenings

Previously, on February 10, social media spread a clip of a woman holding a small child and crying at Children's Hospital 2, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1.

In the clip, the woman said she took her child to the hospital for a check-up at around 4:30 a.m. on February 10. While waiting for a car outside the gate, two people asked her for directions, showed her her phone, and after a while, she didn't know anything. The woman said she was set up as a pickpocket, losing all 9.5 million VND she had saved for her child's medical examination.

This woman also asked the community for help to have money to examine her child.

Ho Thi Xuan held her child and asked for help online, saying she had her pocket picked and lost 9.5 million VND. Photo: Captured from clip

The clip was quickly shared on social media. Many people expressed their grief and sent money to the account number named “Ho Thi Xuan” in the post.

Upon receiving information about this clip, the District 1 Police Command assigned the Criminal Police Team to coordinate with Ben Nghe Ward Police to go to Children's Hospital 2 to investigate and verify.

Through security camera footage from locations around the hospital and businesses and on the street, the police recorded that at 4:37 a.m. on February 10, a woman carrying a baby walked from gate number 4 into the hospital. At 6:18 a.m., the woman walked across the street to have breakfast and then re-entered the hospital in the area in front of the lobby to wait for examination. At 6:49 a.m., she carried the baby to the area in front of the hospital lobby and turned on her phone to livestream.

The woman then took the child into the hospital lobby and went out for lunch at 12:37 p.m. At 1:22 p.m., the woman returned with the child and walked around the hospital.

At 2:08 p.m., the woman and the baby went to gate number 5 and took a motorbike taxi to leave.

scam 1.png — Police coordinated with the hospital to extract security cameras from many locations, initially clarifying the incident. Photo: Provided by the police

The police also identified the motorbike taxi driver and invited him to work. The driver reported that he had taken the woman and the child from Children's Hospital 2 to An Suong Bus Station. After that, it was unclear where the woman went. The woman paid the fare of 150,000 VND using a bank account named "Ho Thi Xuan".

Staged to appeal to the community's compassion

Police determined that during the entire time she was in the hospital, the woman with the child did not interact or talk to anyone. According to the police, the possibility of this person being pickpocketed in the hospital area is unlikely.

Through professional measures, the police identified the woman as Ho Thi Xuan, currently living in Village 4, Ea O Commune, Ea Kar District, Dak Lak Province. The District 1 Police Task Force set out, coordinating with local police to invite Ms. Xuan to work.

Ms. Xuan admitted that the information about being pickpocketed by 2 people at the gate of Children's Hospital 2 as reported in the live clip on February 10 was not true.

scam 6.png — Ho Thi Xuan admitted that the information about being pickpocketed by two people at the hospital was made up by her to appeal for sympathy from the community and receive financial aid. Photo: Provided by the police

She added that she had accidentally lost 9.5 million VND while traveling from Mien Dong Bus Station to Children's Hospital 2. The woman live-streamed on social media for help, saying that she was being staged for pickpocketing, because she wanted the online community to share on social media to get support and donations to have enough money to see a doctor for her child and buy a bus ticket home.

Ms. Xuan also admitted to receiving 28.3 million VND transferred to her personal bank account by many people on social networks. Ms. Xuan spent 977 thousand VND to see a doctor for her child, 150 thousand VND to pay for a motorbike taxi and still kept 27.3 million VND.

The police are continuing to take Ms. Xuan's statement about whether or not 9.5 million VND was lost during the move.

However, the police confirmed that the content of the clip that Ms. Xuan live-streamed, saying that she was staged by two people to pickpocket her at the gate of Children's Hospital 2, was false information, created to appeal to the community's sympathy in order to receive donations.

Currently, the authorities continue to consolidate the case file to handle Ms. Ho Thi Xuan according to regulations.

The unexpected truth about the clip 'mother got pickpocketed while taking her child to the doctor in Ho Chi Minh City'

In response to the incident where a woman posted a clip crying and sharing about being pickpocketed at Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC), this unit has conducted an investigation and issued an official announcement.