A young boy who sells lottery tickets for a living in the central Vietnamese province of Quang Nam has been violently beaten to the point of breaking his right arm before being robbed by a strange man.

Police in the province’s Que Son District confirmed on Tuesday they had initiated a manhunt for the attacker, who fled the scene after assaulting the young boy, 13-year-old Nguyen Van L., on Monday.

The incident took place at around 10:00 am, when L. was cycling home after he had finished selling his lottery tickets that morning.

The unidentified man first asked L. about the winning numbers of the previous day’s lotteries, the boy recounted.

He then claimed to know a man who owns the jackpot ticket of that day, before offering to take L. to him on his motorbike.

He also said that man could give L. some of his cash prize as a bonus.

L. fell for the trick and parked his bicycle at a nearby house before getting on the strange man’s motorcycle.

The boy was taken to a forest, where the stranger began beating him with a tree branch and robbed him of VND1.2 million (US$51.6) in cash.

He then left the scene, deserting the injured boy behind.

L. managed to head to the main road, before a local police officer found him and took him to a medical center.

Doctors stated the boy suffered a broken right arm and multiple bruises on his left arm and legs.

L.’s parents are lottery ticket vendors. As the boy is going through his summer break, the boy wanted to help his family sell lottery tickets, the parents told police.

Local officials have offered financial support worth VND3 million (US$129) to the family.

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