HCMC woman finds son being made to smoke meth 'entertaining'

Nguyen Thao Nguyen, 23, and partner Le Van Bam, 44, were tried before the Hoc Mon District People's Court for abuse. Bam was also tried for illegal storage of narcotics.

Nguyen married in 2021 and has two children aged 5 and 3. In October 2021, her husband entered rehab and during this time, Nguyen lived with Bam in Hoc Mon District. Nguyen's two children also lived with them.

Bam often beat Nguyen's son for crying, threatening him and doing it for "entertainment," the trial heard.

Bam said that on April 10, 2022, he forced the boy to hold a water bottle on top of a speaker and made him hold his position. When the boy got tired and cried, Bam reprimanded and threatened him, causing him to cry even more.

Five days later, Bam smoked meth with Nguyen, and then let Nguyen's son smoke it as well. About 10 days after that, at dawn, he tied the boy up and put him down on the floor, without any clothes on. Bam then used tools like hammers and scissors, threatening to hit the boy's genitals with them.

Bam said he did what he did because the boy refused to sleep.

"I was just kidding. I consider him my own son," he said at the trial. When the judge asked why he tied the boy up, Bam stayed silent.

Nguyen said she witnessed how Bam abused her son multiple times, recorded it on a phone, and sent them to her friends. She said it was "just joking around."

During the investigation, she said she was "excited to see Bam abusing her son," so she recorded it on video and sent them to her friends for "entertainment."

In March, Nguyen's husband completed rehab and returned to find Nguyen and their children. He used his wife's Facebook account to continue the couple's online business. He then discovered on the phone the clips showing his son being abused and made to smoke drugs. The husband then asked his friends to upload the video online to expose Nguyen and Bam, and reported them to the police.

The judge panel said additional investigations would be needed as Bam was found to be supplying drugs to Nguyen and others. Their trial was thus postponed.