Around 9 p.m. on June 16, many people were already sitting waiting in front of the headquarters of Saigon Jewelry Joint Stock Company (SJC) on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street in District 3 to buy gold the next morning.
Most of the buyers grouping together three to five people looked for seats to wait overnight in front of the gold store to buy gold the next morning. Some people prepared plastic chairs and tarpaulin to sit on to hold their places overnight, hoping that they could buy gold the next morning; others had to sit on the sidewalk or in planters because there was no more space.
When police forces arrived and asked everyone to leave to ensure order and security, the crowd gradually dispersed to the surrounding areas and continued to sit and wait. Some people moved to areas out of sight to avoid being reminded by policemen and then stood waiting until the police were no longer on duty and would then regroup in front of the SJC headquarters in Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street to queue for transactions the next morning.
A woman who was waiting nearby said that she went with 6 people, all of whom had traveled from the Mekong Delta Province of Long An to Ho Chi Minh City a few days ago to queue up to buy gold. She said she dared not to go home for fear of not being able to buy gold the next day adding that people in her group brought along many large and small bags filled with food and supplies for a few days.
