Teacher returns child to stranger
On the afternoon of January 13, the family of Ms. Thu Hong (name changed), Thien Huong ward, Thuy Nguyen city, Hai Phong was shocked to receive the news that her daughter, Minh (name changed), 4 years old, class 3A2, Thien Huong kindergarten, had been picked up from school by a stranger earlier.
Ms. Hong reported to the authorities and posted information on social media to call for help in finding Minh. Through investigation and tracing, the stranger took Minh away from school and took a taxi to Tran Nguyen Han Street, Le Chan District, Hai Phong. After that, the stranger continued to take Minh to wander many streets in the city in the cold weather.
At 4 p.m. on January 14, one day after Minh went missing, the subject was discovered by local people while leading Minh on Luong Khanh Thien Street (Ngo Quyen District). The police temporarily detained Dong Thi Ha Thu (born in 2007, residing in Hoang Lam Ward, Thuy Nguyen City). Minh was safely reunited with his family. Initially, the police determined that Thu liked children and wanted to take advantage of Minh.
According to Thien Huong Kindergarten’s explanation, the woman came and said “teacher, let me pick up Minh”, Minh ran after that person. Because Minh’s mother often hired someone to pick him up, the teacher “didn’t pay attention” and let Minh go home. After the incident, the school temporarily suspended the teacher in charge of the class.
Not only this incident, in December 2024, in the city, there were consecutive incidents of strangers infiltrating schools and appropriating students' property.
According to information from the Hai Phong City People's Procuracy, at 7:30 a.m. on December 24, 2024, at Tan Lien Primary School, Vinh Bao District, the school's teachers discovered and caught Hoang Thi Mui (born in 1975, Quang Yen Town, Quang Ninh Province) red-handed stealing 9 silver necklaces from 9 students. The subject confessed that when she saw the students wearing silver necklaces around their necks, she had the intention to steal them.
Previously, on April 23, 2024, at Quan Toan Primary School, Hong Bang District, Mui committed a similar act of stealing 9 necklaces from 9 primary school students. Currently, the subject has been prosecuted and detained.
In early December 2024, the Department of Education and Training of Kien Thuy district confirmed that the authorities were investigating Nguyen Thi Hoa (born in 1991, residing in Thanh Son commune, Kien Thuy district), the subject who caused many cases of appropriation of student property.
Department of Education and Training directs to tighten management
After the above series of incidents, on January 13, 2025, the Department of Education and Training of Hai Phong City issued an official dispatch on strengthening security and safety at educational institutions in the area.
The Department requires heads of educational institutions to coordinate with local authorities to strengthen training, raise awareness of responsibility and professional ethics of teachers and educational managers; regularly organize propaganda, dissemination, and update new forms and methods of fraud for students and parents; develop many educational solutions, support students to recognize and prevent fraudulent behaviors; enhance skills to guard against strangers and protect themselves when facing danger for students.
Schools coordinate to propagate so that parents clearly see their responsibilities in caring for, educating and protecting their children. Along with that, tighten, control and monitor when visitors come to the unit for work, strictly follow the schedule of the unit's leaders and security guards to ensure that no strangers appear in the unit.
Units should increase the use of security camera systems, student management applications or high-tech monitoring devices to improve management efficiency; ensure that information channels between schools and parents are always open...
Mr. Bui Van Kiem - Director of the Department of Education and Training of Hai Phong said that through the incident at Thien Huong Kindergarten, the Department not only corrected and learned from experience in writing but also directly instructed the leaders of the Department of Education and Training of Thuy Nguyen city as well as other districts to be responsible for monitoring, inspecting, supervising and urging the facilities regularly to avoid similar incidents of insecurity and safety in schools, so that children can go to school safely.
