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A Ho Chi Minh City school recently sent a second-grader to the police station without a guardian, which is against the law, since it suspected the girl of stealing over VND1 million (US$48) from her teacher, who later found out the money was actually intact inside her bag.

Ngo Thi Mai, principal of Trung Lap Thuong Elementary School in Cu Chi District, said that teacher Th. reported the loss late last month.

One of the teacher’s students told her that she had seen T., a second-grader of Class 2/3, rummage through her bag before, Mai recalled.

The teacher rushed to that class and, together with T.’s form teacher, questioned the student on the money, but the schoolgirl denied all allegations.

Th. asked another teacher and a student affairs consultant to join them in interrogating the second-grader. Given such pressure from four adults, the little girl reluctantly admitted to stealing the money.

She said she had hidden it in many difference places but the sum was nowhere to be found, Mai said.

The principal added that the girl was once found stealing VND1.2 million ($58) from a lottery ticket seller. She later returned the money after police stepped in.

This time, when the consultant suggested calling local police, the principal nodded. But Mai explained that she only meant to “threaten her.”

Police interrogation without legal guardian

Two police officers arrived at the school shortly after, and they kept asking T. about the place she might have put the money.

But the schoolgirl failed to pinpoint the whereabouts of the cash, despite being urged by her older brother, a fifth-grader who was also summoned to provide help.

The two siblings were eventually taken to the police station with no accompanying guardian as required by local laws.

They were asked to stay there until late in the afternoon when the school called the police and said the money was in fact intact in the teacher’s bag.

“We let them go home when the school said they had found the money,” said Pham Thanh Tam, a police vice chief who directly questioned the schoolgirl.

Asked about a guardian for the kids, Tam explained that they failed to contact any of their family members so a policewoman was named a replacement.

Meanwhile, school principal Mai said she had sent the student affairs consultant to come along with the kids. However, the latter told Tuoi Tre he did arrive at the police station but just “sat outside."