A babysitter from Vietnam’s Mekong Delta has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for beating a one-year-old boy, which resulted in his death.

The People’s Court in Vinh Long Province on Tuesday imposed the 15-year jail term upon Duong Thi Ngoc Giau, 27, for murder.

The indictment showed that Giau and her boyfriend rented a house in the provincial capital of Vinh Long to run an unlicensed babysitting service.

The couple took care of about seven children from 11 to 42 months old on a daily basis.

On November 13, 2020, a man brought his son – one-year-old Tran Hoang Loc – to the location.

As Loc had a mild fever at the time of his arrival, his father gave Giau some medicine.

As the babysitter was feeding the boy at around 2:30 pm the same day, she hit him twice on his back because he was eating too slowly.

Loc then showed signs of weakness, stiffness in his stomach, and nausea.

The boy later walked on his own and fell face down on the floor.

Giau contacted the father and told him about Loc’s abnormal signs, but did not mention the beating.

His father brought him home and later took him to Vinh Long General Hospital, but the young boy passed away at 11:00 pm that day.

A forensic examination by the provincial police force showed that Loc died from acute hemorrhagic shock combined with multiple injuries.

The National Institute of Forensic Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City stated the boy died from a direct and strong hit.

Loc’s fall from a height of 0.15 meters did not cause such an injury, thus Giau’s beating him twice with her dominant hand was identified as the cause of the wound.

The babysitter was arrested on January 29.

Aside from the prison term, she was required to pay Loc’s family VND200 million (US$8,700).

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