Communication workers steal cables
The five men were spotted Sunday afternoon cutting overhead cables belonging to the computer and telecom company FPT, local FPT director Truong Ngoc Tuan said.
Tuan said two FPT repairmen found the men wearing civilian clothes and removing around 80 metres of heavy-duty cable when they went to investigate technical problems in Hanoi’s Van Phuc ward.
A police officer in Van Phuc confirmed the men had been arrested.
Tuan said the men stated they worked for the state-owned telecom firm Viettel, and were removing their own company’s cables. A local Viettel manager confirmed the men worked for the company, but denied the company had any plans to remove cable in that area.
Tuan said in the Van Phuc ward alone, FPT had seen 10 cases of stolen cable since late 2009, with damage amounting to some 200 million dong (11,000 dollars).
Theft of telecommunications cable has been a problem in Vietnam for several years. In 2007, several fishermen were prosecuted for hauling large quantities of copper and fibre-optic cable off the sea floor and selling it on the black market.
Communication workers steal cables << Discussion
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