Le Thi Hong Tin at the health center, Photo: Tuoi TreA woman in Hoai An District, Binh Dinh Province has suffered domestic violence through the six she has lived with her husband, who is a former police officer. The latest incident occurred a few days ago, when the woman was hospitalized in critical condition.

31-year-old Le Thi Hong Tin, of An Chieu Hamlet, An Phong Commune, was taken to the local Health Center after being beaten until she was black and blue and lost a large amount of blood from wounds.

Her husband, Le Thanh Trung, assaulted Tin with two knives when she returned home at 5 pm on January 7 after procuring goods for her home-based grocery.

At 10 pm, one of Tin’s neighbors came to the grocery and found her lying in a pool of blood. The neighbor and some others brought her to her parents’ house, but later took her to the health center due to her serious condition.

On the afternoon of January 8, Tin’s heath condition was slightly better, after having several wounds stitched shut on her palate, but she was still frightened. Meanwhile, Trung and his family did not visit her. 

Tin married Trung in 2006, and has not worked since, but assumed housework at his family’s request. 

Trung has treated his wife poorly since she could not give birth to a boy. During six years of marriage, she has gotten pregnant five times, but they have had just two daughters so far.

Their first child was a boy but he died soon after birth, the second child died in the womb, and the third and fourth children were girls, who were born in 2009 and 2010.
Recently, Tin became pregnant for the fifth time, and doctors said she had an extrauterine fetus that was later removed.

She was sterilized after this at the suggestion of doctors, who said her health had been reduced seriously and advised her not to get pregnant again.Trung did not sympathize with his wife, and often beat her after he returned home from work.

He once mercilessly said, “Any animal has reproductive ability, if you cannot have it, you had better die,” Tin reported. “His family also mistreated me since I could not give birth to a boy.”

Earlier in March 2011, Trung forced Tin to work in a field under the scorning mid-day sun. When she got tired and came home, he beat her so brutally that she had to flee to her uncle’s house to hide. Trung later found her and hit her head against a column of the house. 

Tin was taken to the local hospital where doctors said one of blood vessels in her head was ruptured, and she needed an urgent surgery to repair it.

In another case, Trung used a one-meter long iron stick to strike Tin brutally.

Ho Van Lanh, Tin’s father, said, “I have never been able to relax since my daughter married Trung. Whenever I receive phone calls from her, I am very sad, since she always cries.”

Lanh said he had reported the abuse to local authorities, but they took no action to help Tin.

Nguyen Thi Gai, chairwoman of the Women’s Union of the hamlet, said, “We have heard that Tin’s husband has often beaten Tin so ferociously that she had to be hospitalized, but we cannot interfere since we have not yet received a report about it.”

Source: Tuoi Tre