Australian tourist charged $40,000 for meal in Vietnam

An Australian tourist has been overcharged to the tune of $40,000 by a restaurant in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, local media reports.

The restaurant manager, Tran Tuan Minh, 22, is facing charges of appropriating property after charging $US30,360 ($A39,544) to the Australian visitor's credit card, for a meal worth around $US880 dollars ($A1146), the VN Express news site reports.

The arrest stems from a meal last August at the Nightfall restaurant. The 45-year-old tourist was told after dining with friends that there had been a glitch using his credit card and that he had to use another to pay for the meal.

Both cards were repeatedly swiped by staff at the restaurant, leading to the bill being paid multiple times.

Although the tourist dropped his initial legal complaint after being reimbursed, police pursued the case, saying that Minh ordered a staff member to repeatedly swipe the card, knowing he was overcharging.

He then reportedly withdrew the money from a bank later.

The restaurant closed down last year, a few months after the incident took place.

DPA

See also: Is this the worst vegetarian airline meal of all time?