A 31-year-old Vietnamese woman, Phan Thi Hien, forced her 10-year-old stepson to stitch up his moutha as punishment for stealing 200 dong (1.3 cents).

The boy was beaten severly and given a needle and thread by his stepmother and was forced to sew his lips together, while she stood watch over him. Newpaper reports state that Hien could be prosecuted on charge of ill-treating the child. Incedentally, she has not been arrested since she has a younger child to take care of.