Nursery school owner arrested in Saigon for torturing toddlers
The owner of a private daycare center in Saigon was arrested on November 28 after a video of she and her employees abusing small children went viral online.
Pham Thi My Linh, 43, is facing charges of “ill-treating other people”, a crime punishable by up to three years in jail. Linh, who opened the center three years ago with a kindergarten education degree, has admitted to most of her acts.
Prosecutors will need to verify and ratify the charges before Linh is taken to court.
Linh is the owner of Mam Xanh (Green Buds) Kindergarten in District 12 on the outskirts of the city.
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| Pham Thi My Linh is at a police station pending criminal charges for torturing children at her kindergarten |
A video posted by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, which was taken following a tip-off, shows Linh and her two employees slapping, kicking and caning the 30 infants in their care without reason. Police have not been able to track down her employees, who have only been named as Quynh and Dao; neither has any experience in child care.
Images of child abuse at care centers are no longer rare in Vietnam, but criminal charges are rarely brought against the culprits. They cause widespread anger every time they come to light, especially if they suggest long-term abuse of a large number of children.
The latest video has prompted many people to say that it’s the most terrible case they've ever seen.
The video shows Linh slapping a little boy repeatedly in the face to force him to say hello to her, and hitting a small girl on the head with a big plastic can because she had crawled out of her place.
She is even seen tapping a knife on a child's head and throwing metal poles at the children in her care to force them to eat.
She and the other babysitters used anything close to hand to beat the kids: a slipper, a comb, a broom, a spoon, a pan lid. The children were tortured throughout the day while happy kids’ songs were playing in the background.
Parents were quick to react after the video was posted on November 26, and arrived at the center en masse to rescue their children. At least eight families, who paid Linh VND1.25 million (US$55) a month each to care for their children while they were at work in nearby factories, have lodged petitions demanding criminal charges.
According to government data, more than 2,000 children in Vietnam suffer serious abuse that requires special help and intervention every year.
