18 years in prison for 70-year-old 'blue beard'

On November 27, the Provincial People's Court opened a first-instance criminal trial of Nguyen Phi Hung (born 1950), residing in Van Thanh commune, Yen Thanh, for the crime of "Rapepeople under 16 years old”. Hung's victims were two 8-year-old children living in the same neighborhood.

According to the investigation agency, on June 9, Nguyen Phi Hung sexually assaulted an 8-year-old child in the neighborhood while the child was home alone. That same evening, when he learned that his actions had been discovered by the child's relatives, Nguyen Phi Hung submitted a complaint to the Van Thanh Commune Police, confessing to his crime. Hung also confessed that during this time, he had sexually assaulted another 8-year-old child living in the same neighborhood.

Defendant Nguyen Phi Hung. Photo: Nhu Binh

The victim said that between May and June 2020, Nguyen Phi Hung had lured her into "adult activities" 8 times. After each time, Hung gave her a small bill and told her not to tell anyone. However, the authorities were only able to clarify that Hung had sexually assaulted each victim 3 times.

At the trial, Nguyen Phi Hung admitted all his crimes. The 70-year-old defendant apologized to the victims and their families, and hoped to receive leniency from the law.

Realizing that the defendant's actions were especially serious, violating the honor and dignity of girls protected by law, corrupting morality, causing public outrage... the panel sentenced Nguyen Phi Hung to 18 years in prison.