Vietnamese teacher gives 6-year-old black eyes for spelling mistake

A teacher who beat a six-year-old girl across the face with a ruler because she made a spelling mistake is facing the sack in northe Vietnam.

The girl - identified only as T. in local media in north-easte Vietnam's Bat Xat district - needed hospital treatment for severe bruising under her eyes.

Her teacher, Tran Thi Thu Tra, flew into a rage when she saw the youngster struggling with a word during a spelling test.

But instead of helping her, Tra waited for the girl to get it wrong and then lashed her across the face.

Education officials have suspended the teacher who works at the Phin Ngan Elementary School and say she could be dismissed after an investigation.

Bat Xat education bureau said: 'Strict measures must be brought out to purge school of violence.'

T.'s mother - Chao Ke May - said: 'Two of her friends helped her home from school and she was in pain.'

She added: 'Her face was swelling and there were bruises near her eyes. She was very upset and frightened.'