Mother’s boyfriend under investigation as nails found driven into 3-year-old's head

The criminal division began investigating Nguyen Trung Huyen, 30, after the case was handed over to it by the Thach That District police, and they have also summoned the mother of the child, Nguyen Thi Luyen, 27.

On Monday the girl was brought to the Thach That District general hospital in a coma and with seizures.

Vuong Trung Kien, director of the hospital, said on Tuesday the girl was brought by her mother, and X-rays revealed several nail-like objects driven into her head.

Luyen claimed she brought her to the hospital because her daughter was unconscious, but doctors suspected abuse and contacted the police.

The girl was transferred to Saint Paul, a city-level hospital, for treatment, and remains in critical condition.

Further investigations revealed she had been hospitalized four times for pesticide poisoning, swallowing nails, a broken arm, and a nose injury in the last three months.

The Hanoi police refused to provide any further information.

Do Huu Chuc, 68, the child’s paternal grandfather, said her parents divorced early last year, and the girl has two older sisters aged eight and six.

The girl lived with her father and grandfather until around May 2021, but has since lived "here and there with her mother and some others ...Nobody knows," he said.

When she was poisoned she fell into a coma and had to be hospitalized for several days.

While he is upset over what has been happening to his granddaughter, he has not gone to the police since he wanted to "keep the peace" but has told the girl's mother to take better care of her.