Police in the southern province of Tra Vinh said on Friday they are investigating a case in which an eight-year-old boy was violently beaten by his stepfather in the local Tra Cu District.

Third-grader Nhan Huu P. went to class on October 31 and left his classmates shocked with a number of injuries and bruises on his body.

The boy’s form teacher and schoolmaster were immediately notified of the case and they later reported the incident to Tra Cu police.

Duong Kim Dinh, the schoolmaster, later met with the student’s mother, who admitted that her son had been physically abused by his stepfather.

“P. is a good and kind student and we have no idea why he was so cruelly beaten,” Dinh said. “We are waiting for the police conclusion on the case.”

According to photos provided by the school, P. suffers many cuts on his body, with bleeding wounds the size of three fingers on his back, apparently being hit by hard items.

P. was born to Nhan Van B., who is now chairman of a commune in Tra Cu, and Thach Thi So Ph., vice-principal of a local kindergarten.

B. and Ph. got divorced in 2010 and the court decided that P. live with his mother.

Ph. married Thach So Khum in 2015 and has since moved in with him together with her son.

The mother confessed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Friday that her husband had beaten the eight-year-old with a bamboo stick on October 31.

The child was hospitalized and was only discharged on Friday morning, according to the mother.

When Tuoi Tre expressed concern on the son’s safety when he still lives with the man who had physically abused him, and asked to meet the child in person, Ph. shut the door and asked the newspaper’s correspondent to leave.

The mother said Khum had only “acted out of anger” when he hit her son.

According to medical record obtained by Tuoi Tre, P. was injured to 16 percent of his body.

Tra Cu police said on Friday they are still investigating to see if Khum should be charged.