A court in Vietnam has sentenced a man to death for the shocking murder of his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter by hammering nails into her head.
Hanoi People's Court ordered carpenter Nguyen Trung Huyen, 30, to be executed by lethal injection for the murder.
Huyen carried out the sick slaughter while sharing a home with his partner Nguyen Thi Luyen, 27, and her young daughter in Hanoi.
A grim hospital X-ray image of the girl's injuries shows nine nails hammered deep inside her skull.
Huyen selfishly told how the youngster had "affected his own life", so he brutally killed her so he "would not have to raise her".
The victim was Luyen and her ex-husband's third daughter, who was living with her mother following the couple's divorce last year.
Since September 2021, Huyen is known to have tortured the terrified tot on at least four occasions.
He reportedly forced her to drink pesticide, made her swallow nails, and broke her arms in the first three attacks.
Then on 17th January, he slapped her repeatedly, the court heard, after she failed to answer him and he tortured her with nails.
When Luyen discovered what had happened, she immediately took her young daughter to Thach That District Hospital.
She was transferred to Saint Paul Hospital, where she entered a coma and died two months later.
Huyen had apparently got away with abusing the girl by inventing excuses like claiming she had suffered food poisoning after he plied her with pesticide.
Other times, he would simply deny any knowledge and it is unknown whether the mother knew of the abuse or not.
Prosecutors highlighted inconsistencies in her statements and witnesses reportedly submitted damning information about her.
However, they added that they did not have the legal minimum to file criminal charges against her.
It is unclear if Huyen's execution date has been scheduled or if he may appeal the sentence.
Since 2011, Vietnam has carried out capital punishment by lethal injection.
Huyen was was also given a four-year jail sentence for deliberate infliction of bodily harm, which he will not serve because of his execution.
