Driver says beer looters ignored his desperate cries

“I still cannot believe my eyes,” Hau, still in tears, told Tuoi Tre five days after the incident.

The 30-year-old driver, who hails from the northern province of Binh Dinh, said people appeared immediately after some 1,500 cartons of Tiger beer he was transporting fell into the street near the Tam Hiep roundabout in Bien Hoa city on December 4.

But they were not there to help.

“I was terrified and shouted out loud ‘Please don’t take my beer!’ but it didn’t stop them,” Hau said, adding that some even threatened to beat him if he attempted to stop them.

“That’s what still haunts me today,” he said.

However, there were some people with good intentions, he added. Three people attempted to help him collect the beer cans and stop the looters, but it was mostly in vain. One of them called the police, who arrived a minute too late at the scene when the looters had all vanished, and the street was full of empty beer cans.

Asked if he has anything to say to those who stole his beer, Hau simply said all he wants is that these people provide testimonials to facilitate his compensation process.

“As an employed driver, I have to compensate for all losses during transportation and delivery,” he said.

Even worse, Hau had to hire some locals at VND1 million to clean the street that was scattered with broken bottles and wet with beer after the incident.

Asked if he could forgive the looters, Hau said he wanted some to be penalized by police to “set an example.”

Nearly $15,000 loss

The employer who hires Hau to deliver the beer to a dealer in Binh Thuan Province, who prefers to be named only as M., said the insurance firm had recorded the incident.

“It is confirmed that nearly 1,000 beer cartons were stolen, and the reason is the driver failed to stop the looters,” M. told Tuoi Tre.

She added that the total damage of the incident is VND310 million, or $14,623.

But it is unlikely that the insurer will cover the expense, she admitted.

M. said she has used her own money to compensate for the beer company and the dealer in Binh Thuan, as well as to support her driver, who has to take care of his 5-month-old baby in a rented house.

Dong Nai police said they have identified some of the looters and will prosecute the case if enough evidence is collected.