Man detained for brutally beating 14-year-old boy in central Vietnam

A 44-year-old man from Quang Ngai Province in central Vietnam was arrested on Monday night for physically assaulting a 14-year-old male student over a conflict between the student and his son, a local official said the same day.

Nguyen Dang Vinh, chairman of the People’s Committee of Tu Nghia District in Quang Ngai, said on Monday night that the attack caused the boy to suffer an injury rate of 12 percent.

After the injury evaluation result was released, the district asked its police and procuracy forces to arrest Phan Thuong My, a local resident, on charges of intentionally inflicting injury on or causing harm to the health of other people. He will be in temporary custody for two months.

“This is a serious case where a child was harmed, so district authorities have kept a close watch on its developments and an arrest was made tonight,” Vinh said, adding that he had watched the CCTV footage of the assault and could not imagine how the man could beat a child in such a violent way.

“The act is unacceptable and [the man] needs strict punishment."

The Tu Nghia People’s Committee also asked the education and training division to join hands with the boy’s school to uncover the cause of the case and ensure the student’s mental health.

At 11:30 am on December 8, Lam Gia Khiem, a ninth grader at La Ha Town Middle School in Tu Nghia was cycling home after school when he met My.

They talked for about 30 seconds before My hit Khiem’s head, neck, and stomach.

My later left the scene, while Khiem sat on the road for a while before he could stand up.

A teacher from La Ha Town Middle School saw Khiem’s nose bleeding, so she contacted his family and rushed him to the district’s medical center.

Khiem was later transferred to Quang Ngai General Hospital, where medical professionals diagnosed him with an intracranial injury, noting swelling and pain on his head and face, along with symptoms such as vomiting and scratches on his shoulders.

After four days of treatment, his family asked the hospital’s permission to continue his treatment at home so that he could prepare for upcoming exams.

Tu Nghia chairman Vinh said My attacked Khiem because his son lost a calculator and suspected that Khiem had stolen it.

However, another student hid the calculator and later returned it to My’s son.

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