A court in Hanoi on Tuesday sentenced a local man to life in prison for sexually and physically abusing a nine-year-old girl in late February.
Nguyen Trong Trinh, a 31-year-old resident in Chuong My District, was given the life sentence for raping an under 16-year-old person, the court ruled following a one-day closed trial.
The victim was V.N.Q., who lives in the same district.
According to the indictment, Trinh works as a butcher and pork seller in Thanh Xuan District.
At around 10:30 am on February 24, Trinh was heading home on his motorcycle after work when he ran into Q., who was walking by herself on the street.
Trinh offered the little girl a ride home, claiming to be a friend of her father.
As Q. accepted the offer, Trinh took her to a nearby banana plantation, where he forcefully covered her mouth and held her arms, before touching her genitals.
The victim tried to fight back and scream but she ended up having one tooth and her right arm broken by the sexual predator.
Trinh only stopped his act when the victim’s scream became louder. He left the girl behind and rode away on his motorbike.
Q. was found by her mother when she was walking and crying on the street.
An examination later showed that Q. had one of her teeth broken and suffered a fractured right arm, as well as some injuries to her genitalia.
After reviewing CCTV footage in the neighborhood, the Chuong My police unit was able to identify the suspect as Trinh and apprehended him on February 26.
However, he was released on bail on March 6 and only required not to get away from his place of residence.
The district police’s decision to release the sexual abuser met with fierce opposition from the public.
The municipal police department then took over the case and arrested Trinh again on March 19.
During his trial, Trinh kept denying his crime, but the court stated there was sufficient evidence to convict him.
The man’s action was very serious and caused psychological trauma to the young girl, according to the court.
Aside from the life term, Trinh was required to pay the victim’s family VND400 million (US$17,200) in compensation.
Source: Tuoitrenews
