Nanny beats 6-month-old baby causing brain damage due to 'momentary anger'

On January 15, Vo Thi My Linh - a nanny who beat a 6-month-old boy, causing brain damage, was urgently arrested by Binh Tan District Police for the crime.Killing.

At the investigation agency, Linh showed remorse, cried continuously, and said that due to temporary anger and not being able to control herself, she hit the child.

Linh said she was raising an 8-year-old child and had no stable job, so she took on a job babysitting at a house in Le Thanh apartment building, Binh Tan district, for 3-4 million a month per child. During the last days of the year, the nanny took care of 4 children, including 3 children aged 1-2 years old and a 6-month-old boy.

At noon on January 10, the 6-month-old boy kept crying while his diaper was being changed, causing Linh to angrily hit the boy on the head 2 or 3 times with the palm of her hand (near the wrist). A moment later, while feeding him milk, the nanny repeated the action when the boy spit it out. The victim cried loudly, turned purple and showed signs of fainting. Linh panicked and called the boy's mother, lying that the boy had fallen from the hammock.

Receiving the boy, Children's Hospital 3, Ho Chi Minh City determined that he had suffered a brain contusion and urgently performed surgery. The Ho Chi Minh City Forensic Center assessed that the victim had lost 99% of his health and had a poor prognosis.

According to the investigation agency, Linh admitted that she had raised a small child, so she understood that the head of a 6-month-old child is very vulnerable, and hitting this area would endanger the child's life. At the time Linh committed the act, there were only the suspect and the children in the house. The nanny wished the victim a quick recovery and agreed to compensate all damages to the child and his family.

This afternoon, Ms. Phan Thi Ngoc Anh (32 years old, victim's mother) was almost exhausted after many sleepless nights worrying about her son's life. Currently, the family has not been able to contact the child.

She said she is a teacher at a nearby kindergarten, and her husband is a warehouse keeper for a company. In addition to the baby boy, she and her husband have an 8-year-old son. They rent an apartment in block C, Le Thanh apartment building for 4 million VND/month. About half a month ago, through a community chat group, she learned that Linh lives in the next block, has been babysitting for the past 6 years and is considered "good, the children are taught very well", so she sent her child to the care since January 3.

Seeing Linh taking care of many children at the same time, Ms. Anh felt a bit concerned, but the nanny said "she can guarantee to take good care of the children because she has a lot of experience." During the first few days, Linh reported that her son had difficulty sleeping, had difficulty breastfeeding, and was fussy.

At noon on Saturday, Linh video called Ms. Anh, filmed her son lying on the hammock and said, "He hasn't woken up since morning." She saw a small bruise near his eye and a bruise on his forehead, but didn't suspect he was beaten.

Two hours later, Linh called to report that her child had fallen from a hammock. When she arrived, she saw that her child's limbs were stiff and purple, so she immediately took him to the hospital. "The doctors said my child may have been abused, leading to injuries. I didn't expect Linh to be so harsh with my child," Ms. Anh choked up.