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 threw his 7-day-old baby 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 and returning home, Dat's family organized 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 found that 500,000 VND was missing, so he asked his wife. Ms. H. insisted that she had not taken it, but Dat did not believe her. 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 newborn baby out here?" 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's 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 filed an appeal asking for a lighter sentence. The defendant's wife, who is also the legal representative of the victim, filed an appeal for a lighter 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.
Giving reasons for requesting a reduced sentence, the defendant cited difficult circumstances, with his mother currently sick and old and needing 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 rejected the defendant’s appeal.
