HO CHI MINH CITY, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) — Over 1.5 tons of water spinach, a very popular kind of vegetable in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh city, was soaked in toxic chemicals to make it greener and fresh for a longer period, local media reported Saturday.

The police on Friday found that three households in the city's Cu Chi district soaked water spinach in chemicals which are used to dye cloth or print patterns on clothes, local newspaper Doi Song & Phap Luat (Life and Law) reported.

The households said they have sold around 500 kg of split water spinach a day over the past two years.