Man suspected of cremating boy after admitting him for autism treatment

In a complaint sent to police of Lam Dong Province, Nghia and his wife, from the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, said they sent their 3-year-old son to Le’s family who is known for taking in and treating children with autism and other developmental issues.

When he met the child in January this year, Le said the boy had an intellectual disability and that the treatment period would last two to three years. The fee would be VND200 million ($8,477) a month, and he required a three-month advance payment because there were “many patients in the waiting list.”

Le said his team would consist of a driver, a woman in charge of cooking and nutrition, an assistant who would sleep with the boy, and Le himself, who would perform therapies. Nghia was promised his son would be kept safe 24/7.

“[Le] said he had been trained in the U.K. and that my son would be cured,” Nghia said, adding that Le told his family they could not know where the boy would be treated due to “security reasons.”

On Jan. 14, Nghia and his wife agreed to Le’s treatment regimen and gave him VND600 million. On March 3, they handed over their son to Le and another woman who accompanied him.

On March 8, Le called Nghia’s family, telling them the boy had tested positive for the coronavirus on March 3, and that his entire team had been infected.

“When we asked if we should come up and get our son, Le said the boy’s condition had gotten better, that he was able to eat and behaved well. We were worried, so the family decided to stay in Ho Chi Minh City so we could reach [Le’s place] quickly,” said Nghia.

A day later, Le called Nghia and said his son’s fever had passed and that he was responding well to treatment. Two days later, Le said the boy had tested negative for Covid-19. By this time, Nghia’s family had already returned to Hue.

On March 20, Le said the boy had gained weight and requested the family to send diapers and bigger clothes.

On March 27, Le said he was in Hue and wanted to meet Nghia at a coffee shop. At the meeting, Le and his female assistant handed Nghia an urn with ashes, telling Nghia his son was dead. They allegedly cremated the body themselves and put the ashes into the urn.

Nghia was upset as he had neither learned that his son was dead, nor had agreed to let his body be cremated. So he filed a complaint with Hue police to determine his son’s cause of death, and whether the ashes in the urn truly belonged to him.

The case was handed over to police of Lam Dong. On Sept. 12, Dinh Xuan Huy, deputy director of Lam Dong police, said they were looking into the complaint.

A representative of Lam Dong police added Nghia had once requested to retract the complaint, before filing it again on Aug. 3. Nghia’s wife provided hair samples for verification purposes on Sept. 9, the representative added.

On Sept. 14, authorities said Le told police that during the initial days of treatment, Nghia’s son had a fever and coughed, with his coronavirus test returning positive. Le said he had already informed the family about the matter, and that the boy’s condition improved after using medicine.

However, on March 24, the boy had another fever and died the next morning. Le said he thought it would affect the family’s psychological health, so he did not report the death to authorities and instead put the body inside a carton box, before sealing it with tape.

He then took the body to Dam Rong District to cremate it using gasoline and coal, before handing back the ashes to Nghia’s family.

An investigation is ongoing.

*Names have been changed for anonymity.