The bitter verdict of those who ate the unripe forbidden fruit
(Baonghean.vn) - The boldness of the victims makes it difficult for young men like Bach Sy M. or Hoang The N. to resist their curiosity and desires. Lack of courage and lack of knowledge has pushed these young men into the law and they have to pay with the most beautiful years of their youth through legal sentences.
Usually, in trials of child rape cases, it is natural to pay more attention to the victims because, from both legal and ethical perspectives, they are the ones who really need to be protected and shared.
![]() |
Bach Sy M. and Nguyen Thu H. at the trial. |
But the trial of Bach Sy M. (born in 1994, residing in Thanh Yen commune, Thanh Chuong) was different. Especially when Mr. Nguyen Trong H. - the grandfather of the victim Nguyen Thi Thanh (born in 2002, residing in Thanh Chuong district) confided his heartfelt words. "The girl was only 12 years old (at the time of the incident - PV) but very plump, over 1.6m tall, so M. made a mistake and had to go to jail. I don't blame her for her reckless youth, I just feel sorry for her, her lack of understanding of the law led to this situation."
Thanh's parents work far away so they leave her to her grandparents to take care of. Lacking the care and guidance of her parents, and being in puberty, Thanh has a more rebellious personality than her peers. Thanh is plump, beautiful, tall and somewhat mature so if you don't know her well, many people might mistake her for 16 or 17 years old.
Perhaps only when the investigation agency got involved, Mr. H. was shocked by his granddaughter. Thanh had a lover very early, when he was only... 12 years old. And during the time he lived with his grandparents, when his elderly grandparents were watching TV or resting, Thanh often sneaked out to confide in his boyfriend, Nguyen Thu H. (born in 1990, residing in Thanh Yen commune).
Many times H. enticed and forced Thanh to "act like an adult". Gradually, the sexual relationship was no longer forced but voluntary between the two sides. And Thanh became a woman when she was only 12 years old. After nearly 3 months of passionate love, childish sulking caused the two to break up. The incident did not make Thanh sad at all. Thanh still ran away from home, away from his grandparents to go out.
Then Hoa met Bach Sy M. through his friends. M. was the eldest child in a poor farming family, only finished 9th grade, and was considered gentle and obedient. One time, M. went out and received a phone call from Thanh asking him to pick her up "if not, I will take you to go and break some rocks". At this time, it was too late, M. took Thanh to a familiar grocery store, told Thanh to stay there but she refused and asked to rent a motel to sleep. M. reluctantly accepted.
After taking Thanh to a nearby motel, she told him to go in and rest before going home. However, this girl kept M.’s motorbike key and invited M. to her room to “sleep with me for fun”. Here, this young woman took the initiative to invite her “lover” to have sex and of course this young man could not resist his own desire.
At the time of sexual intercourse with the two young men, Nguyen Thi Thanh was under 13 years old, of course, according to the law, the two young men were prosecuted before the law for the crime of "rape of children". Considering each specific case, the panel sentenced Nguyen Thu H. to 12 years in prison, Bach Sy M. to 3 years in prison. Looking at M.'s bowed head when the court announced the verdict, Mr. Nguyen Trong H. sighed...
Like Nguyen Thi Thanh, Ho Thi Hai (born in 2002, residing in Nam Dan district) also fell in love early. Lacking close attention from her family, Hai often gathered with friends to eat and drink until late at night, even staying overnight. Hai met Hoang The N. (born in 1994, residing in Kim Lien commune (Nam Dan) and had feelings for this guy.
![]() |
Le Hong P. and Hoang The N. bowed their heads while waiting for the panel of judges to deliberate. |
One time in early April 2014, after going roller skating together, The N. asked his girlfriend if she wanted to come back so he could pick her up, but Hai said that he “ran away from home and wouldn’t come back.” Hai asked his boyfriend if he had money to “rent a motel to sleep in” with Hai’s girlfriend. N. rented a room for Hai and Hai’s friend to stay together. Hai’s friend also invited his boyfriend to sleep with them. Each couple had a bed, what had to happen happened.
After that night, Hai also became a woman, at just over 12 years old. This childish love quickly faded away. Hai quickly had a new boyfriend, Le Hong P. (born in 1990, residing in Nam Linh commune, Nam Dan). Love for Hai meant giving all of himself. And P. also got to eat the forbidden fruit with this 12-year-old girl.
The incident came to light when Hai’s family discovered the relationship between Hai and Le Hong P. Shocked that their 12-year-old son had “crossed the line”, Hai’s family reported Le Hong P. to the investigation agency. And of course, the relationship between Hai and Hoang The N. was also discovered when the investigation agency got involved.
For the act of “rape of a child”, Le Hong P. was sentenced to 9 years in prison. Hoang The N. was found to have moderate mental retardation, so he was given a mitigating circumstance and was sentenced to 6 years in prison.
The verdict was announced, the four young men had to bury their youth in the four walls of the prison. The price to pay for their ignorance of the law and lack of courage is not small… To me, the people – women – children – in this case are not necessarily just victims!
Nhu Binh
(The names of the victims in this article have been changed)