Hanoi - Police in Vietnam have arrested a man and his wife accused of abusing their young housemaid for more than a decade, a policeman said Thursday. Chu Van Duc, 44, and Trinh Thi Hanh Phuong, 45, were arrested Wednesday at their noodle shop in Hanoi, after their neighbors reported them to police, according to Dao Van Hoan, chief investigator of the district's police department.
The charges involved a young housemaid, Nguyen Thi Binh, who began working with the couple when she was only 8 years old.
Binh, now 21, says the couple abused her for more than a decade, including making her strip naked and endure beatings and torment with electric wires, sticks and pliers, according to the police.
"Her body is now full of scars," Hoan said, adding that police have confiscated the tools allegedly used against the maid.
Binh had also been kicked to her groin, according to the police.
The young girl came from northern Vinh Phuc province to work for the couple in 1994 with her mother, who left her with the family two years later. The abuse allegedly began after the mother left the family.
The case has generated outrage in a country where it is common for young girls and older women from the countryside to serve as maids or nannies for wealthier city dwellers.
"It's unacceptable that a child abuse case hadn't been detected for [many] years," said National Assembly member Dang Van Khanh. "The case should have been detected earlier if the local authorities had been closer to the people."
Vietnam's fast-growing economy has doubled the average income over the past decade, but most of the new wealth has been skewed to urban areas.
Further investigation is underway in the case. If convicted of maltreatment, the couple face prison terms of up to three years, according to the Article 110 of the Penal Code of Vietnam.
