Vietnam inmate avoids death penalty by getting pregnant; four guards suspended

Hanoi: Four prison guards in northern Vietnam have been suspended for alleged negligence after a female inmate, on death row for drug trafficking, became pregnant, which means her death sentence will be commuted to life in prison once her child is born, state media reported Tuesday. The Thanh Nien newspaper said Nguyen Thi Hue, 42, was arrested in 2012 for drug trafficking and sentenced to death in 2014. A court rejected her appeal the same year. [caption id=“attachment_2628080” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The paper reported that while in prison Hue paid $2,300 to a male inmate to help her get pregnant. It said the 27 year-old male inmate twice put his sperm in a plastic bag with a syringe in a mutually agreed place and Hue inseminated herself. She became pregnant and is expected to give birth in about two months. Under Vietnamese law, Hue will have her death sentence commuted to life imprisonment for having a child under 3 years of age. Police in Quang Ninh province were not available for comment Tuesday. In 2007, two prison guards in northern province of Hoa Binh were sentenced for up to five years in prison for abuse of power for allowing a female inmate to get pregnant with a male inmate. Ap