Danh Sơn (centre) being arrested by the Đồng Nai Provincial Police in April 2024.

ĐỒNG NAI — A male doctor in the southern province of Đồng Nai is facing charges of murder, robbery and illegal possession of military weapons after allegedly killing and dismembering his pregnant lover to conceal their extramarital affair.

On January 14, the Đồng Nai Provincial People's Procuracy issued an indictment against 36-year-old Danh Sơn, a general surgery specialist at Đồng Nai General Hospital, on these series of three charges.

According to the indictment, at the end of 2022, a 35-year-old woman named T.T.B.N. from Biên Hòa City brought a relative to Đồng Nai General Hospital for treatment, where she met Danh Sơn, who directly treated the patient.

Despite both being married, the two allegedly developed a romantic relationship.

By March 2024, the woman allegedly informed Danh Sơn that she was pregnant and demanded that he take responsibility, threatening to disclose their affair to their families and workplace. The charges state that Danh Sơn, afraid of the potential impact on his family and career, decided to kill his lover and dismember her body to eliminate evidence.

To carry out the crime, Danh Sơn allegedly bought a meat cleaver, surgical knives, a hammer and sleeping pills, which he hid in his private rest area at Đồng Nai General Hospital.

On April 13, 2024, Danh Sơn called his lover, asking her to come to his room to talk, and she agreed. At around 1pm the same day, she arrived at the room, where authorities believe the doctor convinced her to undergo an IV treatment to feel better. Believing him, she consented.

At this point, the indictment alleges that Danh Sơn secretly injected sleeping pills into the IV solution. About an hour later, when the woman was unconscious, he allegedly killed her and dismembered her body into multiple parts, placing them into plastic bags and disposing of them at various locations in Biên Hòa City and Vĩnh Cửu District.

After disposing of the body, authorities believe the doctor returned to his on-call room, rummaged through her backpack, and stole VNĐ2.8 million (US$110), a gold bracelet, a ring, a necklace, a pair of earrings and two mobile phones.

According to the indictment, Danh Sơn then discarded the bloodstained clothes and blankets in the hospital’s trash bin to cover up the crime. He also allegedly took the murder tools to a plantation area in Long Bình Ward (Biên Hòa City) to dispose of them.

The following day, he allegedly brought his lover's valuables to a gold shop in Biên Hòa City, exchanging them for three taels of new gold and receiving over VNĐ1 million ($39) in cash. Authorities believe he used the victim's money for personal expenses.

To further erase any evidence, the indictment alleges that he searched for her motorbike in the hospital’s parking lot, removed the licence plate, and discarded it at Suối Linh Bridge (Biên Hòa City, Đồng Nai).

On April 26, 2024, the Criminal Investigation Police Department of Đồng Nai Province arrested Danh Sơn for investigation. A search of his residence in Tân Hiệp Ward (Biên Hòa City) uncovered a revolver and five rounds of ammunition. — VNS