Story By: Simon Glover, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
Picture Credit: AsiaWire
A man has been arrested for raping his blind 14-year-old daughter as she gave birth to a baby girl just months after the teen’s mum died of cancer.
Nguyen Van Hai was arrested by cops at his home in the Di Nau village of the Tam Nong District of north-eastern Vietnam’s Phu Tho Province after tests allegedly proved he was the father of the baby.
Hai’s 14-year-old daughter, named only as T.H., had earlier left school, claiming she was too ill to attend classes, but worried teachers visited her at home and realised she was heavily pregnant.
T.H. later gave birth to a baby girl at home and police launched an investigation after teachers and education officials reported their concerns about the teenager.
Last year, T.H.’s mother – Hai’s wife – died off breast cancer and the local community rallied round to support the poverty-stricken father and his four children, giving them money to help them make ends meet.
However, Hai fell into despair after the death of his wife and allegedly spent much of the money on gambling and alcohol.
T.H.’s grandmother, Nguyen Thi Lien, said the teenager was blind and suffered from learning difficulties because of a genetic condition that the whole family have, who are all partially sighted.
Ms Lien added that the family was so poor that all the children shared one bed and that she did not know how they would manage with an extra baby to feed and no man in the house.
A spokesman for the Di Nua Commune People’s Committee said local people would try to support T.H., her three younger sisters and their two-year-old brother.
But he added that local people had previously given the family 400 million VND (13,690 GBP) after T.H.’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Some of the money had been spent on the sick woman’s treatment and paying off the family’s debts – but T.H.’s father had spent the rest on gambling and drink, the spokesman said.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
