17-year-old Nguyen Hoang Anh, or Hao Anh, another young man and two other minors, who claimed they had been beaten by local police and forced into confessing to a burglary committed late last month, have been acquitted of the charges, a provincial police official announced yesterday.

According to Colonel Vo Minh Phuong, vice head of the Ca Mau province’s Police Department, they’ve gathered sufficient evidence to prove that Hao Anh, Tran Nhu Binh, 20, Dong Pham Minh, 16 and Dang Hong Duc, 14 had nothing to do with the burglary at Le Truong Giang’s home, located in the city’s ward 8, at 2 am on Mar 26.

At the time of the theft, Hao Anh and Binh were playing computer games at a local game parlor, which was verified by the parlor owner and the police’s investigation, Phuong added.

Minh and Duc are also innocent of the crime.

According to Phuong, the fact that the ward 8 police interrogated the adolescents without the presence of their family or guardians is legally wrong.

By the time the provincial police began its investigation into whether the teens were beaten and forced into confession, there were no longer signs of the beating on Hao Anh’s, Binh’s and Minh’s bodies, except a bruise on Duc’s abdomen.

Though the ward 8 police had denied the beating, the provincial police will keep looking into it.

“We’re also investigating if Giang purposefully calumniated the kids, or if a burglary actually happened but Giang mistook someone else for Hao Anh,” the colonel added, promising to penalize the local police officers.

“I’m elated at having my name cleared. From now on I don’t have to wear a floppy hat whenever I go out on the street,” said Hao Anh, who is currently working at a warehouse with the three other youngsters.

However, their families reported they have yet to receive notification of the acquittal from concerned agencies.

Regarding the burglary, at 10 pm on Mar 25, Hao Anh, Binh, Minh and Duc were accused of committing the theft at Giang’s home, some 200 m from Hao Anh’s home.

They were accused of stealing four mobile phones, VND3.5 million (US$169) in cash, and a gold ring and bracelet weighing over one tael. 

The teens’ families reported that they weren’t allowed to be present during the police’s questioning of their sons and after being released, the kids all complained of pains and breathing difficulty. 

Prior to the false accusation, Hao Anh was already well-known when in May 2010, he was rescued by police from a shrimp farm where he was working and suffering severe physical abuse like being forced to drink urine, having his knees hammered… His torturers who were the shrimp farm owners were later sent to prison.

There are now rumors that Giang, the burglary victim, is a relative of the farm owners.