Over the last two years, a young girl has tried to fend for herself and delve into legal matters, including seeking a defense attorney for her parents while they were in custody.   

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>> Vietnamese convicts’ children – Part 1: How badly they need their parents

To have one parent in jail is bad enough.

It would be devastating for any child to be deprived of love and care when both their parents are in custody or imprisoned. 

Some children prove mentally stronger than others, as they swallow their tears, combat loneliness, and paddle their own canoe while their parents are away.

Ngo Thi Cam Hieu, now 12, has done more than that: she managed to seek a defense attorney for her parents, who then saw years of imprisonment for assault and causing injuries to others, and voraciously read law books in the hope of doing something about her parents’ legal case.

Alone on the coach

At around 3:00 am one day in late September 2015, Hieu, who is living with her aunt in Dinh Quan District, located in the southern province of Dong Nai, arrived on her own in Ho Chi Minh City.

The little girl was worn out and shivering cold after covering approximately 110 kilometers from Dinh Quan to the city on a night coach.

Hieu took a quick rest before continuing her lonesome journey later the same morning, traveling another 150 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City to Bu Dang District in the southern province of Binh Phuoc, where the first legal hearing of her parents would be held.

The girl, summoned to court as a witness, could not wait to see her parents after being apart for a long time.

The break in proceedings seemed too short for Hieu and her mother to pour out their hearts.

“I was unhappy most of the time, particularly during the first months after my parents were held in custody. I could not concentrate on my studies,” the young girl confided to a Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter.

“I later got used to their absence. I still miss them but no longer cry now. I love my mom dearly, but can do nothing to help her. If given one wish, I wish my parents would soon be reunited with me.”

At the end of the hearing, the Bu Dang People’s Court sentenced Hieu’s father, N.V.H., 59, to four years in prison for assault and causing injuries to others.

The court also condemned N.T.T., Hieu’s mother, 55, to three years in jail on the same counts.

Ngo Thi Cam Hieu keeps reminding herself to always work hard in her studies. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to the indictment, around 6:00 am on February 16, 2013, N.B.T., 41, who resides in Bu Dang, spotted N.T.T. – Hieu’s mother – picking up cashew nuts in his garden before thumping her.

T. shouted out to H., her husband, for help.

H. rushed to the scene to his wife’s support and joined the brawl.

Meanwhile, Hieu claimed it was her that T. beat.

T., the cashew garden owner, sustained serious injuries and reported the assault to police officers.

H., Hieu’s father, was detained from July 2013 to February 2015 and has been out on parole since.

He currently lives in their home in Bu Dang, but has entrusted his younger sister in Dinh Quan with caring for Hieu, as he is busy with his own and his wife’s court proceedings.

Meanwhile, T., Hieu’s mother, has been in detention since August 2013.

As the September 28, 2015 hearing closed, Hieu looked on sadly as her mother was taken back into the prison truck.

Then the little girl took the same two coaches back to her aunt’s home.

A precocious girl

Hieu, who has a tanned complexion, small build and sparkling eyes, seems more mature than kids her age.

Two years ago, when Hieu was only 10, she rode alone on coaches to Ho Chi Minh City in search of a defense lawyer for her parents.

The child dug up her mother’s former contacts, who introduced her to lawyer Nguyen Van Dat.

Dat, who offered free legal defense for Hieu’s parents, revealed that he had met the young girl one year earlier, when she followed her mother to his office for counseling on how to straighten out a non-criminal dispute.

“Hieu has matured from a shy child then to a mentally strong young lady, who I’m really impressed with,” he said.

Dat added he followed Hieu to her family’s dilapidated house in Bu Dang, where the child took out two law books.

She told the lawyer that she was studying the books to enrich her legal knowledge and better defend her parents in their case.

The child would pore over the books voraciously every night, and read many difficult passages over and over.

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