Didn't want to raise her: man who hammered nails into toddler's head

The comatose girl is in critical condition at the Saint Paul general hospital.

Nguyen Trung Huyen, 30, has been arrested and will be investigated for murder, Hanoi police said.

Huyen lives with his girlfriend Nguyen Thi Luyen, 27, and her three-year-old daughter in a house in Hanoi's Thach That District. He said the presence of his girlfriend's child had "affected his own life," so he abused and tortured her so he "would not have to raise her."

Huyen had tortured the girl four times since September 2021 by making her drink pesticide, swallow nails and breaking her arms, investigation found. The latest incident happened on January 17. He slapped the little girl many times because she did not reply to his questions, and decided to "torture" her with nails.

The mother later rushed her daughter to the Thach That District Hospital. She is currently comatose. She has been diagnosed with seizure and meningitis; and X-ray scans revealed nine nails embedded in her skull. She has since been transferred to the Saint Paul, a city-level hospital, in critical condition.

The landlady of the apartment complex where Huyen lives said he is deaf in one year and works as a carpenter. She said the three-year-old girl was very afraid of Huyen.