Da Nang daycare owner gets two years in prison for torturing children

According to the indictment filed in the Thanh Khe District Court in the central city of Da Nang, Hong was the owner of the "Me Muoi" private daycare center in the district.

In a video that shocked the nation, Hong was caught displaying extreme cruelty in violently handling the babies she was supposed to care for.

The video shows a small boy lying on the ground while Hong force-feeds him and slaps him when he refuses to swallow. Other images show her using violence with many children, like grabbing and lifting a baby up by his head, or squeezing a towel into the face of a baby who apparently refused to eat.

 

 

Da Nang daycare owner gets two years in prison for torturing children

Bảo mẫu đánh vào mặt khi cho trẻ ăn

A former teacher at the facility, who had captured Hong’s behavior with a mobile phone, had quit the job and sold the phone.

After the video went viral, parents reported Hong to the police. One couple also reported that their eight-month-old son died at "Me Muoi" daycare on July 2017.

However, there was insufficient evidence to convict Hong for the death because medical records showed that the cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage with no signs of mechanical asphyxia or external impact.

In four other cases that were captured on the video, the babies did not suffer fatal injuries.

According to Thanh Khe District's Education Department, Hong has a degree in preschool education and was granted a license to open her establishment, Me Muoi, where she took care of 14 children, in May 2013.

Child abuse at nurseries is not uncommon in Vietnam.

A babysitter is shown forcing a child to eat in this screenshot from a video on Facebook.

A babysitter in Ho Chi Minh City in July this year was sentenced to three years in jail after local media last November published videos of her abusing children at a daycare center.

Early last year, two teachers in Hanoi were fined VND2.5 million ($110) each after an online video showed them beating crying children with various objects, including a slipper.

According to government data, more than 2,000 children in Vietnam suffer serious abuse that requires special help and intervention every year.