VietNamNet Bridge – A single female prisoner has given birth to a baby at the Binh Phuoc General Hospital on July 26.

The prisoner, Huynh Thi Kieu, 29, from Go Vap district, HCM City, was pregnant while serving her 13-year term at the An Phuoc Prison in Binh Phuoc province. Kieu was sentenced 13 years in jail for narcotics trading. She was already in prison for eight years and six months when she delivered the baby.

In the morning of July 26, she was taken to the Binh Phuoc General Hospital to give birth to a baby girl of 2.9kg. She left the hospital on July 29.

An official of the An Phuoc prison said that Kieu was still single and Kieu’s pregnancy in jail was under investigation.

Lawyer Nguyen Van Hau, vice chair of the HCM City Lawyers’ Association, police officers who manage Kieu’s detention room would be judged under the public security’s regulations and the law.

Under the amended Penal Code 2009, Kieu can be allowed to take care of her baby out of jail for 36 months.

The Ministry of Public Security has also asked the An Phuoc Prison to report the case.

Major General Ho Thanh Dinh, from the Ministry of Public Security, said that Kieu’s pregnancy was only detected 20 days ago because the prisoner usually wore a big blouse to hide her belly.

Being considered to behave well, Kieu was previously allowed to work in a 10ha rubber garden and she was pregnant during this time.

Kieu declared that over nine months ago, she had only one date with a former prisoner of An Phuoc Prison in the rubber garden. Several months later, she knew that she was pregnant. She tried to hide her big belly.

In her report, Kieu said that she was afraid that she would be too old to have a baby when she leaves the prison so she wanted to keep the baby.

Kieu was served a warning from the prison. At present, she is now taken care at the prison’s health station.

On July 30, the People’s Court of Binh Thuan province had to cancel a trial of nine defendants in a drug trading case because one defendant had just given birth.

PL TPHCM