Prosecution of the case of a boy who was burned and his ashes given to his family

On September 20, Lam Dong Provincial Police said they had initiated a case of violating graves and remains, to investigate signs of crime in the case of a boy whose family sent him for medical treatment but whose body was burned and put in a morgue by the person who raised and cared for him.urnreturn to family

The house in Bao Loc where the man raises and takes care of the baby boy. Photo:Family provided

Two people identified as being involved in the case are Mr. Le Minh Quang, 45 years old, and Ms. Cao Thi Thu Bich, 39 years old, and are being questioned by the police to assist in the investigation.

“In this case, we are determined to investigate to clarify. Currently, the investigation agency is still waiting for the results of the victim's ashes examination,” said the leader of Lam Dong Police.

Previously, Mr. N. and his wife in Hue City filed a complaint to the police, stating that they sent their 3-year-old child to Mr. Quang to treat developmental delays and autism, but received an urn of ashes in return. In the complaint, the family stated that they knew that Mr. Quang adopted children and had the ability to treat developmental delays and autism, so they contacted him for help.

In January 2022, Mr. N's family took their son to Da Lat to see Mr. Quang for a medical examination. Mr. Quang made an appointment to take the boy back to Bao Loc the next day for a more thorough examination. After contacting him, Mr. Quang determined that the child had a mental retardation disease, which required treatment for 2-3 years. To be cured, the child had to be treated before the age of 3. The cost of treatment was 200 million VND/month, and the family was required to deposit 600 million VND 3 months in advance. Mr. N. believed him, so he agreed to the above conditions and transferred the money to Mr. Quang.

Police took the child's ashes for examination. Photo: Lam Dong

In March, in Lam Dong, the family handed their son over to Mr. Quang to take him to a rented house on Phan Chu Trinh Street, Bao Loc City (Lam Dong) to take care of and treat his illness. Because Mr. Quang was born with a disability and was in a wheelchair, they hired Ms. Bich (from Dak Lak) to help with the housework with a salary of 5 million VND/month.

According to Mr. Quang’s statement to the police, the boy had a cough and fever and tested positive for Covid-19. He bought medicine for the child to take.

At dawn on March 25, Mr. Quang discovered that the boy had died. However, he did not inform the authorities or the family, but instead put the victim’s body in a cardboard box, taped it, and put it in his car. In the car, he prepared coal, oil, gasoline, and an iron bucket, then asked his servant to drive, saying he had to go on a business trip.

When they reached a deserted area, Mr. Quang asked Mrs. Thuy to stop. He asked Mrs. Thuy to wait on the highway while he stayed to discuss work with his friend, and would call him when he was done. When the maid left, the man took the things he had prepared in the car and set fire to the boy's body. After about 4-5 hours, the body was completely burned. Mr. Quang poured water into the bucket to cool it down, put the ashes in, cleaned up the scene, and drove towards Hue.

On March 27, in Hue City, Mr. Quang and Mrs. Bich went to buy an urn to dump the ashes. Mr. Quang made an appointment to meet the victim’s family at a coffee shop to hand over the urn.

The father sent a petition to Hue City Police to denounce Mr. Quang, wanting to clarify the cause of his son's death.

Upon receiving the complaint, Hue City Police transferred it to Lam Dong Provincial Police for investigation according to their authority. The Criminal Police Department (PC02 - Lam Dong Police) investigated the content of the complaint.

According to the Lam Dong Police, while the investigation agency was clarifying the case, the victim’s family withdrew the complaint and only sent it back on August 3. After that, the family provided ashes and hair samples related to the victim to assist the investigation.