The ‘heart letter’ of a boy in Hanoi about living with his stepmother is causing public opinion to wave.

The recent post shared 3 videos and 5 pages of a diary of a boy in Hanoi, recounting the process of living with his father and stepmother. In the “heart letter calling for help”, the boy said that he was beaten by his stepmother with a phone, a glass bottle, a spoon…

One of the videos extracted from the camera attached to the post also recorded an image of a woman hitting the boy on the head with a phone and having requests such as making him stand, bowing his face down on the table, not sitting in a chair…
The scene of the boy being beaten was recorded by the camera and the “heart letter” caused a storm on the internet. The cut from the clip
“The Heart Letter” and the scene of child abuse in the video made viewers outraged. The post was widely shared across online forums on the morning of September 13.

Talking to PV VietNamNet, Ms. V. (born 1963, Hoa Xa commune, Hanoi) confirmed that she was the grandmother of the boy in the above case. The boy named D.C.H. (born 2012), currently lives with his father in Kien Hung Ward, Hanoi. She said that the incident occurred in February 2025 but has only recently been revealed.

Ms. V. said that baby H. lived with her father and stepmother in an apartment in Kien Hung ward. Living in the countryside, Ms. V. only knew how to believe that her son and daughter-in-law could give baby H. a full life both materially and spiritually.

Ms. V. shared, about 1 year ago, every time she met H., she saw that the boy was quiet, his body was thin, so she couldn’t help but worry. She often reminds her son to pay more attention and take care of him.

“My son’s work is very busy, he has 2 more twins with his new wife, I am worried that he does not take good care of baby H., so I often remind him. Every time like that, my son encourages me to rest assured,” Ms. V. said.

In early 2025, Ms. V. and her husband suddenly received a phone call from their son, calling their home to settle family matters. Upon arrival, she was shocked to learn that the incident that needed to be solved was the story of baby H. being abused by her stepmother.

“Well, my son realized the difference in H., so he checked the family camera. After that, I asked my nephew to write down things that happened in his daily life, while living with his stepmother.
The letter allegedly from the boy was shared, causing a stir in public opinion.
Reading the 5-page article, along with the events told in detail, my father fell apart, so he immediately called us to the house to solve it. My stepmother initially denied it, then apologized and said that she behaved like that because she had postpartum depression,” Ms. V. recounted.

Ms. V. added that the moment she read her nephew’s “heart letter” and watched some videos recording him being beaten by his mother, she was shocked and sad. “Immediately after that day, my family took Mr. H. to his aunt’s house, and my son was determined to divorce. 1-2 months ago, the divorce procedure for the children was completed. About 2 weeks ago, Mrs. H. moved back to live with her father,” Ms. V. said.

“He is very good and gentle. No matter how he is treated, he has never complained or shared with his father or grandparents. Until my father asked me, I wrote it down in detail. Now the law will solve the matter. I just hope that he can live in peace,” Ms. V. shared in tears.

Meanwhile, sharing with Reporter Dan Viet on the afternoon of September 13, Ms. D.T.B. (the child’s biological aunt) said that her father is Mr. D.V.H. (41 years old). In 2010, Mr. H. married Ms. N.T.H.N., but in 2014, she unfortunately died in a traffic accident. Mr. H. and his ex-wife have a son together, Mr. D.C.H. (13 years old this year).

After his mother died, Mr. H.’s father and son lived dependently on each other until 2022, Mr. H. remarried to Ms. N.T.T. (40 years old) and then continued to give birth to twins (1 boy and 1 girl).

According to Ms. B., in early 2025, when Mr. H. returned to his hometown with his wife and children, the family saw that his nephew had many abnormal expressions, so they warned Mr. H. Mr. H. then checked the camera many days ago and was surprised to know that his wife had many wrong behaviors with Mr. H.

“Actually, when I learned about the incident and saw the camera and the letter he wrote, not only me but everyone in the family was extremely upset, heartbroken and loved him. However, after the incident happened, everyone in the family tried to restrain themselves so that everything was smooth and not noisy because Mr. H. and Ms. T. also have 2 children together. The family also gave her a break from school to go to a relative’s house for a few days to stabilize due to psychological trauma and panic,” Ms. B. said.

Ms. B. also said that after a few days of mental awakening, relatives encouraged the boy to continue going to school. After the above incident, Mr. H. also decided to divorce. However, recently, Ms. T. had bad moves, the family was angry, so they decided to bring the incident to public opinion.

“My nephew is very good and gentle. No matter how he is treated, he has never complained or shared with his father or grandparents and everyone in the family. Thinking back, I love him very much. After the incident was shared, this morning the Kien Hung Ward Police also contacted my brother to verify and clarify.”, Ms. B. added.