Ban Van Vy, 29, from Bac Ninh Province, was detained for investigation on charges of “murder” under the Penal Code following the incident on Thursday at Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital in Truong Vinh Ward, Nghe An provincial police said.
Vy told police that while caring for his wife, who had given birth to twins at the hospital, he noticed one of the babies was weak and required intensive care but felt “the baby was not being properly treated.”
He said that he began to suspect “his baby had been switched,” which provoked anger and a loss of control. “I became extremely worried and panicked seeing my child’s weak condition. After many sleepless nights, my unstable mental state led to an impulsive, uncontrollable act,” Vy said in a confession quoted by investigators.
Police said Vy tested negative for drugs and had no known history of mental illness or treatment.
Around 10 a.m. on Thursday, Vy entered Room 305 of the hospital’s neonatal department, where his wife and the twins were staying with several other mothers and newborns. He grabbed a fruit knife and attacked a nurse and a patient’s relative, police said.
Witnesses said he attempted to throw two newborns out of a window, but their grandmothers Ngo Thi Thu Thuy and Phan Thi Tu intervened. When medical staff rushed in, Vy chased and attacked them before a hospital guard and police subdued him after about five minutes, authorities said.
Three nurses and two grandmothers were injured and have since been declared stable. Two infants sustained minor injuries and are also recovering, police said.
Hospital director Tang Xuan Hai said Vy’s twins were born prematurely and infected and had been transferred to the National Children’s Hospital in Hanoi for further treatment.
“Vy’s claim that doctors neglected his babies is completely unfounded. Our medical staff fulfilled all their responsibilities,” he said.
Nghe An Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital is the north-central region’s leading obstetrics, gynecology and pediatrics facility, with more than 1,300 medical staff, including many highly trained doctors.
