Vietnam's HIV/Aids epidemic has sparked an unlikely new crime trend: needle attacks.
State media are reporting a steady rise in drug users and others wielding used syringes, usually layered in real or fake blood, to scare their HIV-fearing victims.
The phenomenon has gained momentum only in the past few years, observers say, during which period the number of people living with HIV/Aids in Vietnam has more than doubled.
'People have become aware of how dangerous Aids is,' said Khuong Hong Minh, a reporter in Ho Chi Minh City. 'Criminals are taking advantage of people's fears.'
Vietnamese media have reported dozens of needle-attack incidents throughout the country in the past year alone.
Most are drug users committing robberies to fund their habit, reports say, but increasingly, suspects are threatening police with bloody syringes to evade arrest.