Sentenced father on drugs throws child from roof to ground
(Baonghean.vn) - After going through the ventilation hole to the third floor of the boarding house, Le Ngoc Ha screamed and caused chaos. Ha threatened to stab and throw her small child to the ground with scissors.
6 and a half years in prison for drug-addicted father who threw child from roof
(Baonghean.vn) - That was the sentence for a drug-addled father who dragged and carried his own son back and forth on the roof, put the tip of a pair of scissors to his son's neck, and then dropped his son from a height of 3.95 meters, causing minor injuries.
Video shows young man suspected of being high on drugs throwing his son from the 2nd floor
(Baonghean.vn) - A man wearing only underwear carried a baby with one hand while walking on the roof, causing the baby to fall onto the corrugated iron roof.
On the morning of July 29, the People's Court of Nghe An province opened a criminal appeal trial for Le Ngoc Ha (born 1985), residing in Hong Son ward, Vinh city, for disturbing public order and abusing a child. The trial was opened due to the defendant's appeal for a reduced sentence.
According to the indictment, due to a conflict, Le Ngoc Ha's wife left home. On the morning of November 21, 2018, Ha took his son Le Ngoc H. D. (born 2017) to a motel on Nguyen Thuc Tu Street (Vinh Tan Ward) to look for his wife.
After searching but not finding his wife, Ha carried his small child up the stairs through the ventilation hole to the roof of the third floor of the boarding house, screaming and causing chaos. Then, Ha used scissors to threaten to stab and throw the child to the ground. Ha also held one hand or one leg of the child upside down, swinging back and forth in the open space outside the roof at a height of over 10 meters, threatening to drop the child to the ground.
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| Defendant Le Ngoc Ha at the appeal hearing. Photo: Tran Vu |
The authorities used a loudspeaker to persuade Ha to stay calm and not endanger the child, while at the same time carrying out rescue operations to ensure the child's safety in case the suspect acted rashly and threw the child down.
At around 11am the same day, while Le Ngoc Ha was carrying her child on the roof of a 2-storey house, the child fell onto the metal roof below. Ha jumped after him, grabbed the child and threw him to the ground. Fortunately, the rescue team was able to catch him in time, ensuring the child's safety. Le Ngoc Ha also jumped from the metal roof and was immediately restrained and arrested by the police.
At the first instance trial held in April 2019, defendant Ha admitted all criminal acts. The first instance court sentenced Le Ngoc Ha to a total of 6 years and 6 months in prison for two crimes of Disturbing public order and Child abuse (3 years in prison for Disturbing public order and 3 years and 6 months in prison for Child abuse).
Believing that the sentence was too harsh, Le Ngoc Ha filed an appeal for a reduced sentence. In explaining the reason for the sentence reduction, Ha stated that her circumstances were difficult and that she had realized her mistakes. The defendant’s mother also filed a petition for a reduced sentence for her son.
The panel of judges determined that the first instance court had considered the defendant’s mitigating circumstances. At this trial, because the defendant did not provide reasons for a reduction of sentence different from the first instance court, Le Ngoc Ha’s appeal was rejected. Le Ngoc Ha was sentenced to 3 years in prison for disturbing public order and 3 years and 6 months in prison for abusing a child. The defendant was ordered to serve a total sentence of 6 years and 6 months in prison.
Le Ngoc Ha has a previous conviction for drug-related crimes, has been administratively punished for disturbing public order, and is a serious addict. She has been to drug rehabilitation centers many times but without results.
