Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái, 38, receives an eight-year sentence for torture of his eight-year-old daughter at an appeals trial on Wednesday in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Thành Chung

HCM CITY — The HCM City’s People’s Court on Wednesday upheld an eight-year sentence for Nguyễn Kim Trung Thái, 38, for torture of his eight-year-old daughter and concealment of the crime, instead of the death penalty proposed by prosecutors for murder.

Last year, the court sentenced the child’s father three years in jail for torture and five years for concealment of crimes, while his partner, Nguyễn Võ Quỳnh Trang, 28, received the death sentence for murder.

The court later requested an investigation into the case proposed by prosecutors to change the father’s crime from torture to murder, which carries a death penalty.

The investigation, which included re-examining the rate of injury caused to the child, concluded the child’s death was caused by the injuries inflicted only by the man’s partner on December 22, 2021, who received a death sentence.

Based on the conclusions and the principle in favour of the defendant, the court said that the man accompanied his partner in torturing the child but that the man did not consciously or intentionally kill his daughter.

There is no basis to conclude the man should accompany his partner on murder charges, according to the court.

According to the indictment, the victim was the daughter of Thái and his ex-wife. In August 2020, the couple divorced and Thái was permitted to raise the daughter.

In September 2020, Thái started living with his girlfriend Trang at a condo in Bình Thạnh District in HCM City. The daughter also lived with them.

During the time they lived together, Thái witnessed his partner Trang repeatedly beat his daughter, especially from December 7 to 22, 2021. The man told the woman to stop torturing his daughter but in fact he did not take any action to prevent her from doing so.

On December 22, 2021, while the father was out for work, Trang grew frustrated with the girl at home. She then scolded and beat the child using a large wooden stick, and repeatedly beat the child for four hours in a row, eventually causing her death.

Knowing Trang’s criminal actions, Thái deleted all camera data of the apartment in order to conceal the crime, avoid detection and hinder the investigation. Thái’s conduct constitutes a cover-up of the crime.

Regarding the motive of the crime, Trang stated that she beat and tortured the child because she did not study well.

However, the child’s teacher and her nanny verified that the girl was obedient, polite and a good student.

The camera data shows that Trang repeatedly beat the child.

Testimony from neighbours also revealed that the child suffered from violence numerous times before the fatal event.

Trang was arrested on December 23 one day after the child’s death, following a hospital report on the girl’s unusual wounds and injuries. On December 28, 2021, she was prosecuted on charges of torturing.

The father was detained on December 31 on suspicion of the same crime. The violent death has triggered indignation among the public. — VNS