A tourist launched into a shocking rampage inside a cafe that caused £14,000 worth of damage and left diners trapped upstairs.
Ge Cafe, in Da Nang, Vietnam, initially announced a short two to three-day shutdown following what it described as an “unwanted incident”, apologising to customers for the disruption.
However, in a later update, the cafe shared a detailed account of what it says happened at around 11.45pm on 29 May, as reported by Need To Know.
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According to the owners of the cafe, a man entered the venue and sat down, but did not place an order. Staff reportedly approached him multiple times to assist, but he remained seated.
During attempts to communicate, another customer helped translate using a mobile phone.
The owners allege the situation escalated when the man took the customer’s phone and refused to return it, ignoring repeated requests and continuing to use the device.
As staff prepared to call security, the cafe claimed the situation worsened.
The man allegedly stood up, removed his shirt, smashed the phone, and gave a 10-second warning for people to leave before launching into a rampage.
He is said to have damaged bar equipment, décor, reinforced glass, and customer belongings, including laptops and phones, while people on the upper floors were temporarily unable to leave.
Police reportedly arrived around five minutes later.
The cafe says the man attempted to move upstairs and tried to escape, with further altercations occurring, including an alleged incident in which he grabbed a male customer by the neck.
He was finally surrounded by police and taken into custody at around 12.30am on 30 May, according to the post.
Gé Cafe stressed there was no prior conflict between staff and the individual, saying the behaviour escalated during an otherwise routine interaction.
Officials estimate damages were in the region of £14,100 (VND 500m).
The cafe’s owners also confirmed there have been messages of support from international customers, but they will not be accepting any financial or material donations.
Due to damage being more extensive than first expected, it has now extended its closure by a further one or two days while repairs are carried out, and they hope to reopen as soon as possible.
The video of the rampage was liked over 24,400 times, with over 1,700 comments sharing their thoughts.
One user said: “Hope those of you who lost your phone and laptops will be compensated, not only the phone but also a lot of valuable data in the phone.”
Another user said: “Very sorry this happened to you, I love your country and your people. I hope this guy gets deported to never return. He does not deserve the warm, beautiful and loving people of Vietnam.”
A third person said: “I’m so sorry this has happened to your beautiful cafe.”
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