Heartless father threw newborn baby down the well
(Baonghean.vn) - Believing that his wife, who had just given birth to a daughter, took 500,000 VND from him, Dat (living in Quy Hop, Nghe An) cruelly carried his 7-day-old baby and threw it down a well.
Truong Van Dat (22 years old), residing in Dong Ban village, Dong Hop commune, Quy Hop district and Nguyen Thi H. (23 years old) got married in January 2019. On March 15, Ms. H. gave birth to her first child by cesarean section at the hospital. On the evening of March 22, after being discharged from the hospital, Dat's family had dinner. Ms. H. ate dinner separately and looked after her daughter in the couple's bedroom.
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| Defendant Truong Van Dat. Photo: Tran Vu |
After dinner, Dat went into the bedroom to put on some more clothes to buy medicine, but discovered that 500,000 VND was missing, so he asked his wife. Ms. H. insisted that she did not take it, but Dat did not believe it. The couple argued. Dat slapped Ms. H., and H. went out the kitchen door crying. Dat went inside and saw his daughter lying on the bed crying, so he carried her out the front door. A relative said, "Why are you carrying your baby out here when the baby is just born?" Hearing that, Dat carried his baby in.
Seeing his daughter still crying, Dat continued to carry her out into the yard and walked towards the family well. As he walked, Dat said, “Do you consider money more important than human life?” Dat dropped the girl into the well and went into the house. Although the neighbor rescued the child in time, she did not survive.
The first instance trial of Truong Van Dat for murder in July 2019 sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison.
Thinking that the sentence was too harsh, Dat appealed for a lighter sentence. The defendant's wife, also the legal representative of the victim, filed a petition for a reduced sentence for her husband.
Recently, the Hanoi High People's Court opened a criminal appeal trial to try Dat for the crime of "Murder".
At the trial, the panel of judges said that the first instance sentence for Truong Van Dat was too light and advised the defendant to withdraw his appeal. But Dat still maintained his appeal.
In his request for a reduced sentence, the defendant cited his difficult circumstances, stating that his mother is sick and old and needs someone to take care of her. The defendant’s wife also tearfully asked the court to reduce her husband’s sentence.
However, the court held that the defendant’s murder was a hooligan act. Because of a small conflict, the defendant heartlessly threw the newborn child down the well. Therefore, the court dismissed the defendant’s appeal.
