Drug Inhalation to a 3-Year-Old Baby Wearing Diapers... Vietnam in Uproar

Biological Mother and Stepfather Forced Methamphetamine Inhalation
Biological Father: "We Must Save Our Son from Them"

A video showing a baby wearing a diaper inhaling a substance suspected to be methamphetamine has spread mainly on social media, prompting the police to launch an investigation.

According to local media such as Vietnam Post on the 25th (local time), the Ho Chi Minh City police are searching for the child's biological mother and stepfather to verify the authenticity of the video.

[Image source=Getty Images]

The controversial video was posted by the child's biological father, Mr. A (31), who stated, "I posted this to save my three-year-old son from my wife and stepfather."

According to reports, the biological mother, Ms. B (23), left home with her two sons in 2021 after conflicts with Mr. A. She later met and began cohabiting with another man, Mr. C (44). Mr. A later discovered that his wife was a drug addict and took the eldest son back home, but the younger son continued to live with his mother.

Recently, Mr. A contacted Ms. B to sell some items and borrowed her SNS account, where he was shocked to find multiple videos showing Mr. C verbally abusing the younger son and making him inhale a substance suspected to be methamphetamine. Ms. B not only failed to stop this but also filmed the incident while conversing nearby.

Mr. A immediately contacted Ms. B to warn her, saying, "Don't do such things," but she ignored him. Ultimately, Mr. A posted the problematic videos on SNS to seek help.

The head of the Ho Chi Minh City Child Rights Protection Association, after viewing the videos, sent an official letter to the police requesting urgent support to protect the child suspected of domestic violence and drug use. As the controversy grew, the Vietnamese police confirmed the time and place where the videos were filmed and are currently tracking Ms. B and Mr. C.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is a country that strongly punishes drug crimes, imposing the death penalty for possession or smuggling of more than 600g of heroin or over 2.5kg of methamphetamine.

It applies some of the strictest laws in the world and consistently enforces a zero-tolerance policy, but trafficking and offenders have not significantly decreased. In particular, the number of drug addicts residing in Ho Chi Minh City was recorded at about 28,500 in 2021, an increase of 4.3% compared to the previous year.