Two babysitters at the hearing on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Two babysitters have been jailed for the murder of a 17-month-old boy they were supposed to be caring for.

On Friday, Nguyễn Thị An, 30, was jailed for life and 31-year-old Nguyễn Thị Lành was sent to prison for 20 years by Hà Nội People’s Court following the death of the baby in Thường Tín District.

According to judges, An and Lành's behaviour of assaulting, beating and abusing the child caused extremely serious consequences.

The defendants, who do not have professional teaching qualifications, opened an illegal childcare facility.

Despite being ordered by the local authorities to stop operating, the two continued to work and look after children.

An and Lành, both living in Phú Minh Town, Phú Xuyên District, Hà Nội, started to run a kindergarten at the end of 2022 in Vạn Điểm Commune, Thường Tín District.

The two have admitted assaulting, beating and abusing the child, born in September 2021 since he arrived at the kindergarten in mid-February 2023.

According to the indictment, on the morning of February 23, 2023, seeing the boy crying, babysitter Lành threw him to the foam mattress on the floor, making his head hit by the mattress.

An kept using her legs to hit, and crash the boy’s belly, chest and ears.

After the boy’s mother discovered bruises on his ears and asked the teachers for a reason in the afternoon, they said the boy fell into the toy basket while playing in class.

The boy vomited at night after returning from school but the mother continued to send him to class over the next few days.

As the boy cried non-stop in class, babysitter An continued to throw him to the floor and kick his belly on the morning of February 26.

The boy then was unconscious, vomited and used his fingers to scratch his face. The babysitters asked the boy to drink water but he refused. They poured the water on his face and used their hands to slap the baby's face so that he could wake up.

Finding that he was not awake, they called the mother. He was rushed to the healthcare facility and died at 4.15pm on March 2 of irreversible respiratory failure due to severe traumatic brain injury.

The two babysitters paid compensation of VNĐ500 million to the victim’s family. — VNS