Truong Thi Bac, 47, from Yen Ninh commune, Thanh Hoa province, has been charged and detained by the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency for "torturing others". The charges stem from allegations that Bac abused an 82-year-old woman under her care. This is not Bac's first brush with the law; in 2017, while working as a domestic helper in Hanoi, she was convicted of stealing property from an employer and sentenced to a six-month suspended prison term with six months of probation by the former Long Bien District People's Court.

Bac stated that her family was poor, preventing her from completing her education. After her divorce, she entrusted her daughter to relatives to work as a laborer. The incidents of abuse occurred at the family's private residence in alley 190 Lo Duc, Hai Ba Trung ward, where Bac was hired in mid-November 2025 to look after the 82-year-old woman. The woman was frail and bedridden after suffering a stroke and had recently been discharged from the hospital.

Truong Thi Bac at the investigation agency. Photo: Provided by police.

According to the employment agreement, Bac was a full-time domestic helper. Her responsibilities included bathing, cooking, personal hygiene, and feeding the elderly woman. She received a monthly salary of 11 million dong, a 13th-month salary, 10 days off for Tet, and an additional 600,000 dong per month for breakfast.

Despite claiming no conflict with her employers, Bac admitted to yelling at and hitting the elderly woman when she "did not cooperate with requests". She stated that if the woman refused to eat, she would yell loudly and force her. Specific incidents of abuse occurred on 6/1, 8/1, and 9/1. During these dates, Bac slapped the woman's face and forehead, choked her, twisted her head, and dragged her from one spot to another.

Images of the domestic helper beating the elderly woman recorded by security camera. Photo: Cut from video.

The abuse came to light on 10/1, when the elderly woman's child noticed her mother's health had deteriorated, with significant swelling on her forehead and bruising around her eyes. When questioned, Bac initially claimed the woman had fallen. Skeptical of the domestic helper's explanation, the family reviewed security camera footage. The recordings revealed Bac frequently beat and abused the elderly woman while performing routine care tasks, including changing clothes, feeding, and changing diapers.

Following the report from the victim's family, Hanoi Police initiated an investigation, interviewing all involved parties and arranging for the elderly woman to undergo an injury assessment. During questioning, Bac expressed remorse for her actions and requested leniency.