The Death of 8-Year-Old Girl Nguyễn Thái Vân An – Fatally Abused by Her Stepmother, with the Complicity of Her Father, in the Context of COVID-19 Lockdown

The Death of 8-Year-Old Girl Nguyễn Thái Vân An – Fatally Abused by Her Stepmother, with the Complicity of Her Father, in the Context of COVID-19 Lockdown

On the evening of December 22, 2021, the 8-year-old girl Nguyễn Thái Vân An was urgently rushed from the luxury Saigon Pearl apartment complex to Vinmec International General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Doctors discovered numerous injuries on the child’s body and determined that she had already died before arrival, prompting them to immediately notify the authorities.

The case was later identified as one of the most severe and shocking child abuse incidents in Vietnam in recent years, especially as it occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table of Contents:

1.  Victim and Defendants

2.  Background

3.  The Abuse Process of Vân An

4.  The Death of Vân An

5.  Prosecution

6.  Notable Details from the Court Hearings

7.  Public Reaction

8.  Reaction from the Victim’s Family

1. Victim and Defendants

The victim was Nguyễn Thái Vân An (born 2013, 8 years old at the time of death), the eldest daughter of Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái (born 1985, 36 years old at the time) and Nguyễn Thị Hạnh (born 1985).

The defendants included Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang (born 1995, 26 years old at the time), Thái’s girlfriend who lived with them as a stepmother and directly carried out the abuse leading to Vân An’s death; along with Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái, who acted as an accomplice and attempted to cover up the crime.

2. Background

Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái and Nguyễn Thị Hạnh married in 2011. Vân An (born 2013) was the first of their two children. The family lived in an apartment in Tân Phú District, Ho Chi Minh City, along with the housekeeper Ms. Lê Thị Tích (73 years old), who had cared for Vân An since she was 4 months old and treated her like her own child.

In August 2020, due to marital conflicts, Thái and Hạnh divorced. The court awarded custody of Vân An to Thái, while her younger brother lived with their mother. Afterward, Thái, Vân An, and Ms. Tích moved to an apartment in Topaz 2 Tower within the luxury Saigon Pearl complex (Bình Thạnh District). This was a high-income residential area overlooking the Saigon River.

“Every week, Mr. Thái gave me 800,000 VND for groceries. I handled all the cooking and daily care for the child. Mr. Thái left early for work and returned late, only eating with us once every 2-3 days.”

Around September 2020, Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang moved in with them. Thái initially introduced her as a “friend.” The two were not legally married because Thái’s family disapproved and he himself did not want more children, which conflicted with Trang’s wishes. From then on, Trang’s jealousy and resentment gradually grew.

When she first arrived, Trang gave Ms. Tích three small pieces of beef but deducted 100,000 VND from the grocery money. Ms. Tích described Trang as someone who “calculated every single đồng.” During her employment, Ms. Tích noted that Trang did not beat the child at that time, only occasionally scolding her while helping with studies. She added that Thái rarely paid attention to the children due to work, but when he did help with homework, he often yelled and cursed.

Thái and Trang forbade the biological mother and her family from seeing Vân An. However, when the child fell ill, Ms. Tích informed Hạnh, who came to pick her up after two days. Later, when Ms. Tích returned from a family event in her hometown, she found that Trang had thrown away all her belongings and insulted her, claiming they were unused items belonging to Vân An. Trang later gave her money to buy replacements.

Ms. Tích secretly arranged for Hạnh to meet Vân An weekly at the apartment when the family was out. During one phone call with a friend, she accidentally mentioned the conflicts with Trang and the secret meetings. Trang overheard this through the home security cameras. As a result, Ms. Tích was fired, banned from returning, and publicly slandered by Trang on social media.

From September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Vân An had to study online at home. Thái assigned Trang the task of supervising her studies and caring for the child. This marked the beginning of the abuse.

3. The Abuse Process of Vân An

According to the indictment, Vân An was beaten a total of 121 times by Trang.

Starting in September 2021, when online learning began, Trang supervised the child’s studies and frequently beat her during these sessions. Trang even ordered a rattan cane online to use for beating; when it broke, she switched to a wooden stick.

Between December 7 and 22, 2021, the level of abuse became particularly severe. Trang regularly:

•  Used her hands, feet, wooden sticks, canes, metal rods, and the vacuum cleaner tube to beat Vân An.

•  Forced the child to strip, kneel for hours, hold her arms up, or be locked in the dog cage with the family pet.

•  Deprived her of sleep.

•  Refused to let her sleep and forced her to study while threatening her with violence.

Thái witnessed these acts many times and even participated directly in the beatings. Audio recordings captured him saying things like “You dog, fuck your mother” while the child was locked in the cage with the dog. On the night of December 10, 2021, extending into the early morning of the next day, the two took turns torturing and beating the child in vital areas of her body.

A resident living in the apartment below, Mr. Nguyễn Tiến C., stated:

“The noise and screaming started around October 2020 (when Trang moved in). My wife and I reported it to building security. However, they said they had already reminded the residents upstairs, but the response was that it was a family matter. I was very upset and asked why they didn’t investigate or intervene more clearly. Security said many other households had also complained and they had intervened before.”

He added:

“Only later did I learn that the child’s father had another woman. During the lockdown period, I heard yelling and crying almost every week, at any time of day or night. At the time, I thought it was just a couple arguing and never imagined it was child abuse.”

4. The Death of Vân An

On December 22, 2021, Thái went to work while Vân An had an online class from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Afterward, Trang cooked phở for the child and gave her three boxes of milk. In the afternoon, Trang continued supervising her studies. However, because the child kept making mistakes, Trang cursed and beat her for many hours, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., using a wooden stick and repeatedly kicking her. The wooden stick was round, 2.2 cm in diameter and 90 cm long.

Trang also tied the child’s legs with rope until she was exhausted and forced her to kneel while studying. While she was kneeling, Trang slapped her head hard. Not stopping there, Trang made Vân An sit on a chair and then kicked her so she fell down.

Around 6 p.m., Vân An showed signs of extreme fatigue. Trang helped her onto the bed, but she collapsed. When Trang pulled her up, Vân An vomited, then fell to the floor and lost consciousness. Trang called Thái to come home. At that point, Thái had just returned to the apartment complex from work, so he called an ambulance and took the child to the hospital. Upon arrival, the victim was already pronounced dead.

In the hospital hallway, upon learning what Trang had done, Thái used his phone to delete all the camera data from the apartment, obstructing the investigation.

The autopsy results showed both new and old injuries on the victim’s body. The final beating was the direct cause of death, while the prolonged prior abuse had left the child in a severely weakened state. Doctors found large bruises across her body and old wounds on her face that had been stitched.

The forensic conclusion determined that Vân An died from pulmonary edema, with numerous bruises on her body. Additionally, she suffered injuries to the chest and abdomen, including:

•  Fractures of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th right ribs

•  Minor hematoma at the fracture sites

•  Subcutaneous hematoma on the right forehead

•  Mild brain edema

Other findings included:

•  A stitched scratch on the head

•  An old scar on the head

•  Bruises on both armpits

•  A large bruise on the buttocks

5. Prosecution

Despite Thái deleting the camera data, police were able to recover it.

On December 23, 2021, the Investigative Police of Bình Thạnh District Police issued an urgent arrest warrant for Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang on charges of torturing another person. In the early morning of December 30, 2021, they issued another warrant for Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái as an accomplice who aided Trang in abusing the 8-year-old girl, leading to her death.

On January 1, 2022, due to the particularly serious nature of the case, Bình Thạnh District Police transferred the entire file to the Ho Chi Minh City Police. On January 5, 2022, Ho Chi Minh City Police decided to initiate the case for the crimes of murder and concealing a crime. On April 22, 2022, Thái was confirmed to be involved.

The first-instance trial for Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái and Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang began at 7:20 a.m. on July 21, 2022, at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court. Despite starting early, thousands of people gathered outside the courthouse.

Because the case involved a minor, it was initially planned as a closed trial. However, due to strong public pressure and the victim’s family not requesting a closed hearing, the court decided to hold it publicly.

During the first-instance trial, lawyer Trần Thị Ngọc Nữ (representing the victim’s family) requested that the case file be returned for further investigation to determine the extent of Vân An’s injuries from December 7 to 22, 2021, and to reassess Thái’s role as an accomplice in the murder.

The case file showed that from 10:14 p.m. on December 10, 2021, until 2 a.m. the next day, Trang and Thái used canes and metal rods to beat Vân An on the head while she was naked. Even as her biological father, Thái joined Trang in cursing and beating the child using dangerous objects. At other times, when Trang beat the child, the father either watched directly or monitored via camera.

The court accepted the lawyer’s request as necessary under criminal procedure but could not carry it out immediately, so it returned the file for supplementary investigation. However, the Institute of Forensic Science refused to conduct further examination because the medical records from Vinmec Hospital lacked sufficient detail.

On September 13, 2022, the supplementary investigation conclusion maintained the original charges: the father was prosecuted only for torturing another person and concealing a crime.

On November 25, 2022, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court held the first-instance trial. Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang was tried for murder and torturing another person; Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái was tried for torturing another person and concealing a crime.

The sentences were as follows:

•  Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang: death penalty for murder and 3 years for torturing another person; combined sentence — death penalty.

•  Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái: 3 years for torturing another person and 5 years for concealing a crime; combined sentence — 7 years in prison.

Three weeks later, Trang filed an appeal claiming the sentence was “too harsh compared to her actions.” However, on April 24, 2023, she withdrew the appeal, stating she felt pressured and exhausted during the appellate process and did not want further public attention to affect her family.

The victim’s family appealed, requesting that Thái’s charge be changed to complicity in murder. Lawyer Trần Thị Ngọc Nữ argued that the old injuries (from October 2021) may have contributed to the death and that the investigation should be supplemented.

At the May 10, 2023 hearing, the prosecution stated that, based on the forensic reports, the injuries on December 22, 2021, were sufficient to cause death, while the earlier injuries only aggravated the child’s condition but were not the direct cause. Thái did not have the intent to take the child’s life. The original verdict was upheld.

6. Notable Details from the Court Hearings

Both Trang and Thái admitted to the abuse but claimed they “beat the child to teach her to be better and study harder.” However, investigation results showed that Vân An was a good student who was well-behaved and polite with her teachers.

Regarding Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang, the court asked and she answered “yes” to the following:

The defendant beat the victim until one hand was tired, then switched to the other; when the other hand hurt, she put on gloves and continued beating, even though the child’s body was already covered in injuries.

She answered “I don’t remember” to the question about tying the child with rope so tightly that movement made it tighter.

When asked about her awareness of the brutal beating, Trang cried, clenching her hands:

“I cannot explain why I did it. My actions were too cruel. I apologize to Vân An’s family.”

Thái also admitted the acts described in the indictment but claimed he deleted the camera data because “the child vomited a lot in the bathroom” and he was “mentally disturbed.” The investigation determined that, as the biological father, he failed in his parental duties and deleted the footage to protect his girlfriend rather than his daughter.

When asked by the prosecutor about his actions, Thái hesitated:

“I deeply regret it, but it’s too late now. If I had stopped Trang earlier, this would not have happened. This shows I am a coward. Later, when my son (Vân An’s younger brother) learns about this, he will be very heartbroken.”

The prosecutor noted that the public was outraged at Trang, but ten times more outraged at Thái’s behavior of covering up the crime.

After watching the recovered camera footage in court, when asked about his actions, Thái replied:

“That is a terrifying memory. I don’t want to recall it.”

7. Public Reaction

The case received enormous attention and strong reactions from the public and influential figures in Vietnam, especially amid rising child abuse during COVID-19 lockdowns.

On December 29, 2021, Ms. Rana Flowers, UNICEF Representative in Vietnam, expressed deep sorrow and concern over the child’s death caused by violence from those she should have trusted and been protected by.

On December 30, 2021, people gathered outside the Saigon Pearl complex, hanging banners to protest the abuse and demand justice for the victim. The gathering was peaceful, with police present for security.

A memorial lasting over three hours was held in the building lobby, with a photo of the child surrounded by white chrysanthemums and candles arranged in her name.

After Vân An’s death, many resident groups were created to express condolences. People shared links to the “Justice for Baby Vân An” group and spread posts across social media using the hashtag #JusticeForAn.

Because both Thái and Trang came from relatively well-off families, rumors of irregularities spread online. When Thái received an 8-year sentence, these rumors intensified, fueling further public outrage.

8. Reaction from Vân An’s Family

Nguyễn Thị Hạnh, Vân An’s mother, shared her feelings upon first seeing the autopsy results:

“As a mother, I am extremely heartbroken seeing the bruises on my daughter’s body. It is even more painful knowing that her biological father helped cover up the crime and allowed another woman to beat and torture his own child.”

The former housekeeper Lê Thị Tích said:

“Vân An was very gentle and well-behaved… In the afternoons, I would pick her up from school, bathe her, feed her, and we would sleep together every day. These past few days I haven’t been able to stay calm. I miss her so much! When I saw the images of bruises all over her body, I nearly fainted. I never imagined Ms. Trang would torture her so brutally. Now I deeply regret that I couldn’t see her one last time.”

During the first-instance trial, when Thái asked for a lighter sentence “to return home soon to care for his parents and remaining child and make up for his mistakes,” Vân An’s maternal grandmother, Ms. Thúy, repeatedly shouted outside the courtroom:

“Shut up! She doesn’t recognize you as her father!”

She also expressed the wish that both defendants receive the death penalty.