Three charged with negligence, involuntary manslaughter in Hanoi schoolboy death

By Pham Du, Thanh Long   December 26, 2019 | 07:46 pm PT
Three charged with negligence, involuntary manslaughter in Hanoi schoolboy death
Bus driver Doan Quy Phien. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du.
Three people face charges of negligence and involuntary manslaughter in the death of a 6-year-old boy in a Hanoi school bus last August.

Nguyen Thi Thuy, 29, 6-year-old Le Hoang Long’s homeroom teacher, will be charged with negligence; while involuntary manslaughter charges will be slapped on Doan Quy Phien, 53, the bus driver, and Nguyen Bich Quy, 55, the bus monitor, Cau Giay District prosecutors stated Thursday.

The defendants face up to 5 years in prison, if convicted.

The boy, Le Hoang Long, was picked up by the school bus at 7 a.m. on August 6, 2019. It was Long's second day at the Gateway International School.

At 8 a.m., after arriving at school, bus monitor Quy allegedly let the students out without checking their number, and falsely recorded that all 13 students had left the bus. Driver Phien then drove the bus to a parking lot, and allegedly locked the bus without checking whether any student was left inside.

Bus monitor Nguyen Bich Quy. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du.

Bus monitor Nguyen Bich Quy. Photo by VnExpress/Pham Du.

At 3:45 p.m., after the bus was driven back to the school to take students home, Quy discovered Long lying motionless on the bus floor behind the driver's seat. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. His death was caused by "heat stroke" and "respiratory failure" and no influence of external forces or diseases was seen, a forensic report said.

The police allege that the homeroom teacher, Nguyen Thi Thuy, did not report Long's absence to the family, as per standard school procedures, which include writing the absent student's name on the corner of the board and sending messages through the school's student management applications. After being reminded by colleagues, Thuy reported Long's absence. However, her report claimed that the parents were aware of it.

The next day, Thuy allegedly asked school staff to change the report about Long to absent without parents' notice.

Thuy's inattentiveness and lack of responsibility in students' management contributed directly to the belated discovery of Long, police said.

The management of the Gateway International School have not been held responsible for the boy's death.

 
 
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