Ho Chi Minh City police are hunting a man for beating his 85-year-old mother after a video of the attacks on Vietnam Television (VTV) caused public outrage.
The video of Nguyen Phuc Dieu maltreating his mother Le Thi Thuy at a house in Ward 3 in Go Vap District was broadcast nationwide on Wednesday.
The video which was allegedly shot on November 7 by a concerned neighbor showed Dieu hitting his mother across the back making her fall to the ground after yelling at her.
The aired clip of the woman, who uses a cane, being hit immediately drew widespread criticism.
The Go Vap District police said they had paid Dieu a visit the same night but his relatives told them he “had gone to Hanoi to visit relatives at 3 p.m.”
Go Vap District police chief, Senior Lieutenant-colonel Huynh Tri Thanh, told Thanh Nien Thursday they were trying to contact the neighbor who had filmed the violence and posted it on the Internet.
The neighbor, identified only as H., had reported the maltreatment of Dieu to police on November 7, Thanh said.
Not the first time
Speaking with Thanh Nien Thursday, the 85-year-old Thuy said her son had mistreated her since early this year when she came to visit him from central Quang Ngai Province.
“He often lashes out at me, saying I’m a burden,” Thuy said in tears.
Thuy said she was very weak and had trouble eating but Dieu never took her to hospital for treatment.
Local authorities said Dieu and his wife had moved to the area in 2004. Neighbors had reported Dieu to the police for abusing his mother at least twice this month.
Neighbors said they had seen Dieu lashing out at his mother many times even hitting her legs with a stick.
A local official told Thanh Nien Dieu was the only son of Thuy as his brother died in the war and was recognized as a war martyr.
“Thuy has been bringing up Dieu’s six kids so how could he treat his mother like that?” the official said.
Dieu’s wife, according to angry neighbors, had also threatened anybody who reported Dieu to police.
Ward 3 vice mayor, Nguyen Thi Bach Yen, told Thanh Nien Thursday local authorities had taken Thuy to her granddaughter’s house in Cu Chi District while the police tracked her son.
In August, a man in the central province of Quang Ngai also assaulted his 82-year-old mother and his two brothers and granddaughter following a domestic row.
Under the Criminal Codes, people found mistreating their parents, spouses, children, or relatives could face suspended sentences or jail terms up to three years.
Reported by Dam Huy |
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