First instance sentence upheld for former bank employee who molested 9-year-old girl
The appellate panel held that the defendant's appeal was baseless and therefore upheld the first instance verdict against defendant Cao Manh Hung for the crime of Child Molestation.
On the afternoon of July 16, the High People's Court in Hanoi opened an appeal hearing on the case of Child Molestation.The defendant in the case is Cao Manh Hung (born in 1983, from Dong Hung, Thai Binh, residing in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi). Hung used to be a bank officer and committed obscene acts against YN (born in 2008, residing in Hoang Mai, Hanoi, Hung's neighbor).
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| Defendant Hung at the appeal hearing on the afternoon of July 16. |
At the appeal hearing, the defendant stated that he did not commit any obscene acts with the girl N. However, the representative of the Procuracy said that the first instance verdict sentencing Cao Manh Hung for molesting a girl in Hoang Mai district, which caused a stir in public opinion, was well-founded and requested to maintain the 2-year prison sentence for this defendant.
After deliberation, the appellate panel held that the defendant's appeal was baseless and therefore upheld the first instance verdict against defendant Cao Manh Hung for the crime of Child Molestation.
Previously, on May 25, the High People's Court in Hanoi brought Cao Manh Hung to the appeal trial, however, because the victim's lawyer requested to postpone the trial, the panel of judges decided to postpone it.
On September 29, 2017, the first instance court sentenced defendant Cao Manh Hung to 24 months in prison. After that, the victim’s family filed an appeal requesting an increase in Hung’s sentence. On the other hand, defendant Hung also filed an appeal requesting to be cleared of his innocence.
At the first instance trial, defendant Hung argued that he was wrongly accused. Hung claimed that he only carried T. into the alley and did not commit any lewd acts. However, this testimony was rejected by the panel of judges.
Previously, the Child Molestation case in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi happened around the end of 2016.
After learning about the incident, Ms. NTL (the victim's mother) sent a petition to the authorities to report that her daughter had been repeatedly abused by her neighbor, Cao Manh Hung.
During the investigation, the authorities intervened to clarify and quickly initiated the case, prosecuted and indicted Cao Manh Hung. On September 29, 2017, the Hanoi People's Court opened the first instance trial and sentenced Cao Manh Hung to 24 months in prison.
