The Death of Lê Thị Thanh Huyền at Cát Tường Beauty Salon

An unauthorized cosmetic procedure

On October 19, 2013, Lê Thị Thanh Huyền went to Cát Tường Beauty Salon in Hanoi for cosmetic surgery. Nguyễn Mạnh Tường, a doctor who owned the salon, performed the procedure.

Later court findings reported by Vietnamese media concluded that the salon was not licensed to perform the cosmetic surgery carried out on Huyền. She developed serious complications and died after the procedure.

Concealment after the death

Instead of promptly reporting Huyền's death to authorities and preserving evidence, Tường transported her body away from the salon. Security guard Đào Quang Khánh assisted in the subsequent concealment.

The conduct after Huyền's death became a separate part of the criminal case. Crime by Region omits graphic descriptions because they add nothing necessary to understanding the prosecution or the legal outcome.

The criminal charges

The case drew intense public attention and was sometimes described in sensational language. The legal record is more precise. Prosecutors charged Tường with violating regulations governing medical examination, treatment and other medical services, and with an offense against a corpse, grave or remains.

The court did not convict him of murder. The first-instance panel found that his illegal medical practice and violations in the treatment process caused Huyền's death, while the later disposal of her body constituted the separate offense against her remains.

First-instance judgment

On December 5, 2014, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced Nguyễn Mạnh Tường to 14 years in prison for violating medical-service regulations and five years for the offense involving the victim's remains, for a combined sentence of 19 years.

The court also imposed compensation obligations to Huyền's family and barred Tường from medical practice for five years after completion of his prison term. Đào Quang Khánh received a combined sentence of 33 months for theft and the offense involving the victim's remains.

Appeal

Tường appealed the first-instance judgment. On September 11, 2015, the High People's Court in Hanoi rejected the appeal and upheld the 19-year sentence.

The appellate court found that the lower court had correctly assessed the illegal medical treatment and responsibility for the fatal outcome. It also upheld the judgment concerning the later concealment-related offense.

Status

The case is classified as Solved / Adjudicated. The criminal responsibility arising from Huyền's death and the subsequent concealment was determined at trial, and Tường's principal sentence was upheld on appeal.

For editorial accuracy, this page does not call the case a murder conviction. Huyền's death was prosecuted under the medical-services provision applied by the Vietnamese courts, alongside the separate offense involving her remains.