Nguyen Minh Phung is now under investigation for murder. Police said the mother, 15, is a native of the Mekong Delta’s Can Tho City.

She came to live with Phung a few months ago in Ba Ria – Vung Tau when she was already pregnant. In May, she gave birth to a baby boy.

On the night of August 15, the sounds of the couple quarreling woke the baby up. Phung tried to soothe the baby but could not stop him from crying.

Frustrated, Phung hit the boy in the head and returned the baby to his mother. After that, the two visited Phung’s mother for a talk a short distance away. They took the boy with them.

On the way back to their apartment, the couple found that the boy had lost consciousness, so they rushed him to a local hospital for emergency aid. But the boy had already died when they arrived at the hospital.

It was concluded that he died of a traumatic brain injury.

As the couple prepared the boy’s funeral, neighbors felt they were behaving suspiciously, so they reported the case to the police. The fatal accident on August 15 was not the first time the late boy was hurt.

In mid-July, he suffered a broken arm and several other injuries, and his mother took him to a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. Back then, she had received financial aid from many benefactors to take care of her child.