Singer Chau Viet Cuong's mother: He is famous but doesn't give me any money

Sitting absent-mindedly in a small house in the middle of a field in Nam Thon village, Ha Hai commune (Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa), Ms. Nguyen Thi Hue (born 1958) - mother of singer Chau Viet Cuong could not believe it when she heard that her son was arrested.

She said that there were only two of them in the house, Cuong had no father. Before, the family was so poor that the two of them did not have enough money or rice to live, so Cuong only studied until grade 9, then dropped out and went to work to help his mother.

“Since he was little, he had to go to the South and the North to work. Every time he came back, he didn’t go anywhere, just stayed at home,” Mrs. Hue recalled.

Around 1999, Cuong returned to his hometown at the same time as a circus troupe came to the local area to perform. At the same time, there was a singing audition, and whoever sang well would be taken to perform with the troupe.

Gifted with a singing voice, Cuong boldly took the test and was selected to sing with the circus troupe. From then on, Cuong sang all over the country, only returning home occasionally. No one knew when Cuong became a singer.

Mrs. Hue sighed: “What kind of famous singer doesn’t have a single penny to give to his mother? Last Tet, Cuong came back and gave me 5 million, then had to borrow 2 million from his mother to go out... On the 5th day of Tet, he told me to borrow 8 million and then take the money, and now I have heard the bad news.”

According to Mrs. Hue, Cuong got married at the age of 21, his wife is Do Thi Anh Tuyet (from Quang Ninh), and they have a daughter who is about 6 years old. Cuong rarely brings his wife and children home, to the point that she can't even remember her grandchild's name.

“Cuong’s family life was not perfect. On the day of his wedding, he had no money. His wife’s family promised to cut off his household registration and return there to become a professional singer or model, but it didn’t work out. Then the couple broke up,” said Mrs. Hue.

Recently, Cuong married a second wife named Ngoc Anh (from Lang Son) and also has a daughter named Nguyen Chau Ngoc (15 months old). Before Tet, the couple argued so Cuong went back to his hometown to celebrate Tet alone, while Ngoc Anh went back to Lang Son.

“Yesterday his wife called to say that Cuong was a drug addict and a murderer. Now he has to sell all the land in the countryside to take care of things,” Mrs. Hue cried.

Point to the newly built small house about 30m wide², Mrs. Hue said that before she had to live in a thatched house, every day she went out to sell bunches of vegetables and snails to make a living.

In 2015, she had little savings so she decided to build a house. The cost was about 100 million, she had to borrow from the bank and still owed more than 40 million.

Hearing the news of her son's arrest, she could not sleep. The cabbages she had just bought for the morning market were scattered around the house.

“Now that he has to go to jail, I don’t know how to live. I often get sick and don’t have the strength to go to the market anymore.”

Neighbors said that Mrs. Hue's family is so poor that it is difficult to even find a meal to eat.

Vice Chairman of Ha Hai Commune People's Committee Nguyen Van Tinh added that although her son is a singer, Mrs. Hue's family situation is very pitiful. Previously, the mother and son lived on land, and have just built a small house in the field. Cuong rarely goes back to his hometown when he sings. Up until now, the mother and son have lived very well with the neighbors, without any scandal.