Vietnamese woman cuts off husband's penis

A penis is worth more than a finger?

I'd say it is. I mean, I have 10 of one and only one of the other.

I hope they sent the divers in the river to look for it, unless of course it was floating.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Shakespeare was right.

I have ten of one and none (of my own) of the other. Can't say it's ever been a problem.

Touche. Though I dare say you might take a different position if you were in possession

I have ten of one and none (of my own) of the other. Can't say it's ever been a problem.

Cuz you were born that way Cleo...nobody deserves to be mutilated. Ever.

First off, a eunuch is a male who's had his testicles removed, not his penis. Not the same thing as what happened here.

In staying on-topic, while I certainly wouldn't condone going out and cutting off someone's appendage as retribution for slights, I can see a judge might cast a lenient eye on a woman who suffered physical and emotional abuse from a drug-abusing asshat of a husband for the better part of two years. Drugs and the propensity to hit things make for a monster in the domestic sphere, and that will likely be taken into consideration.

On the other hand, it does seem like she was angrier about the infidelity than the physical abuse. Otherwise, why not cut off a finger or a hand, as others have suggested? The penis seems like a very specific target to address a very specific grievance, and for that, I suspect the judge won't be as forgiving, evidence of physical abuse or no.

I also have to say that given the nature of their relationship, it’s a considerable stretch to compare this act in any way to Type III Female Genital Mutilation. Rooted in asinine patriarchal, misogynistic, religious hoodoo, FGM is an evil in a category all its own. Trying to compare its victims to this drug-addled, wife-beating, philandering fool is grossly disrespectful to the some 100-140 million females, most of them children, who have had to endured the horror of FGM throughout the world.

I agree with OssanAmerica; the man seems like a vile lowlife who made her life hell.

Ms O'Neill; I think that his drug habit would have made him penniless or close to it.

This fellow sure does sound like scum, and he deserves punishment. But genital mutilation, be it of a man or woman, is just wrong.

jobless, drugaddict, cheating and beating his woman. Must've been a living hell. And now she gets maybe 12 year in a crappy vietnamese prison. Life wont be any better for her :

Be careful in SE Asia boys............

Although this shouldn't be encouraged, it seems like she may be doing the world a favor. That man will have a very difficult time now sowing his seeds now which means there will be one less child growing up in a less than nurturing enviroment.

Wow -- welcome to a lesson in Vigilantism 101. For everyone who applauds what she did, I say: Why did she stop with cutting it off? She could have shoved a stick up his other private parts. She could have castrated him. She could have done anything from any sort of horror movie or TV program that you don't have to look too hard to find.

I apologize for being disgusting, but do you see what I'm driving at? It's this whole attitude of, "Well, look what he did to her, so she was fully justified in having her revenge." Sorry, but I'm not buying that. He was jobless -- that is not a crime. He took drugs -- depending on the drugs, that is probably a crime in Taiwan, but your average libertarian would categorize that as a victimless crime. He had an affair -- that is not a crime. He abused her -- that presumably IS a crime in Taiwan, but the proper response for that was for her to report it to the police straight away, and not to let anger and resentment build unchecked for years until she felt morally justified to do whatever the h--- she wanted to do.

I'm guessing that his abuse did not leave her without the use of an organ or a limb. His situation is far worse. Given that, whatever punishment she receives should be far, far more severe than anything he receives.

Cleo: "I'm not accusing - just trying to get my head around the importance to the average man of his willie, and indeed willies in general."

Well, let's think about the fact that the age old question in regards to life is "Why are we here?" One reason that has been posited time and again is that we are here to reproduce and continue our species. Chop of a man's willy, or mutilate a woman's reproductive organs and that ability likely becomes unavailable. Hence, it is quite important -- the parts, I mean. But it's not just that; why do women feel sad when they have their breasts removed due to cancer? I mean, based on your argument about willies, what's so important? Re-watch Erin Brockovich... specifically the part where the woman who has had both her ovaries and breasts removed asks, very poignantly, "What makes me a woman?"

Should we be asking what's so important about those body parts for women, Cleo?

Before the incident, the woman deserved everyone's sympathy, but by taking her revenge, everyone now feels sorry for this Peterless Pan fellow who seems like a piece of work. I wonder if the authorities will take his actions into consideration or not? I'm guessing not.

I don't like it when a woman does this.

In Vietnam, all assets and earnings are divided 50/50, and she would get any children. So in a divorce she would get half of nothing, plus any children they had to take care of. Im afraid outside of the US or UK divorce is not a way to make money.

Leaving an abusive man is never easy, and I suspect it would have left this woman homeless and penniless. I dont condone what she has done, but the psychological damage done to her by years of abuse should mean she gets to plead insanity. She does not deserve to go to prison for this.

Proably more to this than meets the eye.

Moral of the story, never marry a jobless drug addict, and never for the sake of a visa.

Local newspaper: ---she told the police that the woman her husband (partner) openly brought home sneered at her: "Your husband will soon discard you". Not only the dog that you feed bites your feeding hand, but also the bitch. Hope the court (generally quite corrupt) consider all that.

More from the same report:

Vietnam has enacted legislation to prohibit certain of these practices, but implementation is slow and insufficient. Twenty-five years after the ratification of [Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women], women in Vietnam are still largely unaware of their fundamental rights. No court decision has cited or drawn upon CEDAW.

You're right. She could have complained or reported her jerk of a husband to the authorities.

But who would have listened?

I don't think this is on the same level as the issue of FGM. Sure she could have found other ways to extract revenge, But no matter how much you discuss it there are going to be very few if any people who will disagree that the guy deserved it,

I'll go on record to say he didn't deserve it. You don't get to mutilate people, no matter how horrible they are. If he is a batterer then he should be in jail, not in a hospital. And I have trouble seeing your point about FGM, as well, unless you mean it isn't institutionalized.

I have 10 of one and only one of the other.

I have ten of one and none (of my own) of the other. Can't say it's ever been a problem.

He made her life a living hell, and she snapped due to his abuse - a moment of madness. Whilst I dont condone cutting off appendages, perhaps if men thought women might fight back like this, then perhaps they wouldnt beat and cheat on their wives. Good for her, for taking back control of her life, and I hope she receives the leniency she deserves.

Her husband is not worth going to jail over and I don't know how her society treats women who don't accept the husbands abusive behaviour and bail out on there husbands or If she had children. But I think she should have left him the second after he hit her the first time instead of letting that and the cheating she witnessed buildup to where she felt she had to do something like this. I would not say she did this from jealousy I just think she had enough of supporting a fool. But this situation is normal for some countries where the women work and support the family and the men do what they do and it is accepted behaviour to some, not to me but to some.

Nothing hurts more then a smack in the wallet

From the reaction of our male posters, I think they'd disagree; nothing hurts more than a smack/snip in the crotch.

cleo: "From the reaction of our male posters, I think they'd disagree; nothing hurts more than a smack/snip in the crotch."

You would get the same reaction from females if it were about female genital mutilation, and hopefully the men as well.

Utrack: "Her husband is not worth going to jail over and I don't know how her society treats women who don't accept the husbands abusive behaviour and bail out on there husbands or If she had children."

It's a shame that she suffered so much at the hands of some low-life scum, but her wrong doesn't make a wrong situation right. She committed assault and has to face the consequences. This man, too, should still do time for his crimes, and I agree that she should have left him a while ago (easier said than done, methinks). But it's not a 'how society treats women' thing -- it's the law, and she broke it.

A penis is worth more than a finger?

It's worth more than a hand. Possibly two.

A penis is worth more than a finger?

A lot more.

It's a small problem in society. Assault is enough, not attempted murder. 12 years, I guess he's only half that now.

This is why i don't play around any silly games. My wife said she'll do the same thing to me if something this sort ever happens so I just hang around idle like a cucumber all this years in fear of my penis being forever chopped and gone!

is this whole penis severing thing now becoming a sport? and if so, will it be in the olympics. Why, just a month and a half ago, another asian woman severed her husband's penis and dropped it in the garbage disposal. Are we seeing a resurgence of bobeting? (As in Lorena Bobet, the American woman for whom the act is named)

Wonder if she saw and was influenced by the cutting-edge Japanese film 'Realm of the Senses?'

Okay, my wife just heard the news of this from her friend and called me in disbelief. So, with that said said, I'm going to be really nice to her and buy her some chocolates for a few weeks. Just until the thought of snipping body parts leaves her mind. I don't need a copy-cat "castratophy."

If they had the penis,they could always reattach it, if done soon enough.

I wouldn't leave home without it.

"threw the severed member into a river"

She should be charged with polluting a river.

Made only one mistake, she should of cut it ALL off! Cut it all off! Make him look like a Ken doll. Really the low life deserved so much more!

Newsman,

Thank you for the correction. You're right. The story takes place in Taiwan. Not that that changes much of what I posted about social roles of women in that country as compared to Vietnam. Confucian mores still exists. Male dominance over society still exists. The abortion of female fetuses is still rampant. Physical abuse of a women is still considered a man's right. ] The laws in Taiwan are more developed in prohibiting these behaviors, but the underlying cultural structure remains intact, leading to the same problem -- she could have indeed complained. But the societal structure is such that I doubt she would have had a very receptive audience.

Notthesame,

Without getting into a prolonged debate with you about human sexuality (BTW, I disagree with you strongly on virtually every generalization you made here -- and yes, they were broad, unfounded, not-just-a-little-bit sexist generalizations), I'm not saying that what she did was right. I'm saying that what she did was understandable. There's a difference.

Without understanding the root causes of a crime, there is little chance of lessening its occurrence in the future.

If men want to sit here and rage against a woman who would do something so appalling as slice off a philandering, abusive husband's reproductive organ without at the very least accepting that the man possesses some culpability for his part in this drama, then there's little room for anyone to be surprised or outraged when events like this occur from time to time. Repeating cycles repeat because there's something intrinsic in the plan to make it do so. The plan needs to be changed, and that includes, in the case of women who are victims of physical and emotional abuse in a society that doesn't really care, giving women real, concrete options for dealing with abusive, asshat-husbands.

She'll pay for her crime. Of that, I have no doubt. And well she should, after all assault is indeed assault. But this rhetoric flying around about how horrid and so much worse that drawing-and-quartering is the act of severing the man's penis is a load of hooey based largely on the misguided notion that the male sex drive, and by extension, his sex organ, is somehow the most important thing he has to contribute to humanity.

With the population of the world teetering on the brink of 7 million, and the prevalence of rape as a form of punishment unabated in some of the darker corners of the planet, let me assure you it's not.

No, that doesn't mean I'm willing to give up my little fella'. We're quite attached. It just means I have a more realistic appreciation for his place in the world.

And while we're on the topic of reasonableness, I'm curious to know how the men here, if placed in similar circumstances, i.e., physically and mentally abused regularly by an openly cheating, drug-addled partner, would react to their predicament. Would they go to the police and file a report? Or would they take matters into their own hands, whatever that entails?

How about simple infidelity? How many of us would lash out at the wife or girlfriend?

How about simple abuse? Someone beating on you day after day? How many of us would strike back without consulting the local police?

I'm laying odds that more posters than not had an initial reaction to this scenario of revulsion, as if to say, "What sort of man would put up with that type of treatment from anyone, much less a woman?"

LFRAgain,

without at the very least accepting that the man possesses some culpability for his part in this drama

Where is anyone saying this, exactly? No-one here appears to dispute the guy is a horrible person that deserves punishement. What a lot of people are saying is that he doesn't deserve mutilation. Because no one does. Ever. Period.

It's a principle. "Penis" may be a hot button issue for a lot of male posters, but it really doesn't matter in the larger picture. I woudn't condone the lost of a finger, hand, earlobe, anything. I woudn't condone scarification, branding, or similar. I would be more likely to support state sanctioned capital punishment than any sort or state sanctioned corporal punishment, no matter how mild. You just don't get to do that.

The only way castration even begins to make sense is in the case of rape, where we can concieve of the "penis as a weapon." But even there I cannot support it.

No mutilation under any circumstances. Bodily integrity should be a basic human right (just one of the reasons why I am staunchly opposed to the abomination that is FGM and think the world has a duty to stamp it out.)

NewsmanOct. 18, 2011 - 07:36AM JST. To those who try to rationalize why it would have been impossible for her to walk away, I ask: Why is the nonviolent solution impossible, while the violent one is acceptable under the circumstances?

Most women who are in abusive relationships might have had signs prior to things getting serious as to what path it was heading down, but it’s very hard to differentiate the difference between control and concern when someone appears immediately contrite and remorseful after an outburst, whether verbal or otherwise. By the time the abuse becomes physical, the woman’s self-esteem has already been torn down to such a degree that she actually feels as though she deserves it, and feels guilty and ashamed, rather than angry and motivated. People who say that “she should have left” or “it’s her fault for staying” only further tear down their self-esteem, and not only hinders the success in these women from leaving their abusers, but also supports the mindset of the abusers themselves.

A woman who commits an act of violence due to the abuse she suffers isn’t doing something right, and most of these women recognize that fact, regret it, and will rally behind anti-violence campaigns, as opposed to the abusers, whom deny that any abuse ever took place, or, if they admit to it, place the blame solely at the feet of the victims themselves. If you fail to differentiate between the victim who feels remorse for her violent actions, and the abuser who denies any abuse ever occurred, even after more allegations of abuse surface, you’ve chosen, then to encourage more of the negative actions done by both parties.

What is this woman's fixation with the penis? My guess is that it was revenge against the other woman.

cleo: "And male dogs need to be fixed every bit as much as female dogs."

May well be true. As a non-dog owner I could not say, but if we're going to bring ethics into it for some reason than I suppose it's just as fair that the lad be chopped as the ladies.

But we're not talking about dogs here -- we are talking about a woman who felt justified in mutilating a man's genitalia for his adultery, which is absolutely wrong. Does he deserve to reproduce? well... that's a matter of opinion, but either way it is not up to us, or this woman, to decide, and more than it would have been this man's right to do something to incapacitate this woman's genitals as a means of revenge for something she did that he did not like.

I know that the dead horse I'm whipping is looking mighty flogged already, but I only continue to whip it because some people seem to be trying to justify the 'punishment' this man received. BOTH he and the woman were wrong, but in no way did he deserve to have his manhood sliced and diced as a piece of revenge.

yanee: "Good for her! He deserved it!"

No, he did not. Nor would this woman deserve genital mutilation as punishment for her crime (his love affair is not a crime, by the way, at least not in the legal sense). I don't defend the man; for his drug use, which violates the law, and his abuse of the woman, he deserves to do time. But in no way did he deserve what he got, and so this woman must pay. I hope she gets the full 12 years to think about whether it was worth it or not.

OK Then take him for every penny she has been giving him to enable his drug habit, still hits him in the wallet and less likely for her to end up in jail for the sins of the retrobate

A modern day eunuch.

What she did was wrong, violence only begets violence and her actions prove that two wrongs do not make a right. I dont believe she deserves a 12 year prison sentence but don't believe she should get off scott free either.

course if it was the other way round and the wife was a no working, drug addict slut sleeping around and beating the husband on occasion we would say something different had he chopped something off...

lol penis floating in the water? eww >< bastard was abusing and cheating on his wife TwT

She sounds like a Vietnamese Lorena Bobbit ...

Ouch! That's just wrong!

Maybe the guy deserved alot of bad things, but....to lose his junk? That's harsh!

Well, she cut only half of it off, and she didn't cut off his testicles.

I feel sorry for this poor Vietnamese woman being abused by a horrible Taiwanese drug addict wife beating womanizer scum bag, so half of his tin tin was chopped off?? Good! I hope the Taiwanese courts understand how much abuse the Vietnamese woman had suffered making her go crazy and driving her to this rage and CHOP! Off with the tin tin!

And now she gets maybe 12 year in a crappy vietnamese prison.

Why would she go to jail in Viet Nam? One would think that since it happened in Taiwan the Taiwanese would prosecute the case and deal with her there.

Is there any proof she was abused, such as past reports by her to authorities, physical evidence, or corroborating observations from co-workers/neighbours? if it is puerly based on her testimony it could be an excuse to justify actions performed out of pure jealousy.

A penis is worth more than a finger?

I guess that would depend on the size of the penis and the size of the finger! (smile). Yikes! that must hurt!

that woman sounds just as horrible as her husband. they deserve each other.

Ouch just reading this article!!!!

A modern day eunuch.

On the bright side, historical accounts seem to indicate that they have lovely singing voices.

Women have to understand once for all, no matter how mad they can be to know that it's really sensitive down there. You could do anything to us, but please spare us the pain and shame of little johnny.

On the bright side, historical accounts seem to indicate that they have lovely singing voices.

Uh. Doesn't quite work like that.

Back on topic please.

"He was jobless -- that is not a crime. He took drugs -- depending on the drugs, that is probably a crime in Taiwan, but your average libertarian would categorize that as a victimless crime. He had an affair -- that is not a crime. He abused her -- that presumably IS a crime in Taiwan, but the proper response for that was for her to report it to the police straight away, and not to let anger and resentment build unchecked for years until she felt morally justified to do whatever the h--- she wanted to do."

All valid points, if we weren't talking about Vietnam, where women's social standing is anything but equal to those of men. We're talking about a society in which dowries are still a major component of the marriage transaction.

From a report prepared by the organization Vietnam Commitee on Human Rights:

Today, patriarchal Confucian values and practices remain deeply entrenched, and women suffer from prejudices in the home as well as the workplace. In the rural areas particularly, but also in many modern families, women are under pressure to bear at least one male child to continue the family lineage and keep up the traditional practice of ancestor worship. Failure to produce a son is directly attributed to the wife. Reports indicate that abortions of female fetuses are practiced in certain rural areas, even though this is now prohibited by law. Domestic violence against women remains widespread, and often perceived as a husband's legitimate means of "educating" his wife.

Newsman: agreed. But the abuse may have scared her for life... we don't know. Also, she may have been afraid to contact the police if she was an immigrant; language issues or feeling that she would be ignored or laughed at by the police.

it’s a considerable stretch to compare this act in any way to Type III Female Genital Mutilation. Rooted in asinine patriarchal, misogynistic, religious hoodoo, FGM is an evil in a category all its own.

You are right. This is more like cutting off the clitoris and removing half of each of a woman's breasts too, type 3 genital mutilation and then some. Why? Because pretty much all of the typical man's sexual identity and stimulation is in his penis. Women seem have sexual identity in the breasts and stimulation in both the breasts and the clitoris. To remove the half of the penis that contains the head is to rob him of sexual stimulation and the deformity of half a penis will make him feel a freak with any woman he meets from now on.

And let me tell you something: Its easier to convince the men in genital mutilating societies to stop than the women. Google the word ngaitana and you will see. The male elders banned FGM in the 1950s and the girls started getting their friends to do it for them, then claim they did it themselves to protect their friends. Men love sexual pleasure. Its generally the women who would happily throw it away for some perceived "higher purpose". Look at cleo who poo-poos the idea that a penis is worth more than a finger! No clue I say.

The core differences between this and FGM is that this is an isolated incident rather than a point of culture, and a man was the victim.

LFRAgain: "it’s a considerable stretch to compare this act in any way to Type III Female Genital Mutilation."

True, you cannot compare the 'rationalization' that the aggressors use to mutilate others, but nonetheless you CAN compare the end result, which is genital mutilation. This woman is no more right in doing what she did by suffering abuse than someone who engages in FGM for whatever reason. She clearly targeted the man's penis to cut, and as you said it was more for the adultery than anything else, so it's flat out genital mutilation, and not a stretch to compare it to any other genital mutilation for either sex.

This poor woman was supposedly abused, and definitely cheated on, and obviously was supporting a drug-addict, but she took the low-road and clearly violated laws, so she needs to pay. This man is going to suffer for the rest of his life as a result of this -- be it how he urinates, the potential inability to pro-create, a complete lack of sensitivity in that area, etc. Argue all you want that the man may deserve it, but he doesn't. Cheating and being a drug addict do not warrant the result this man has suffered. There are still going to be huge complications physiologically, and of course psychologically. The man deserves to do some time for his crimes, but he doesn't deserve to have his reproductive organs cut off by some lunatic woman who is jealous any more than she should have her ovaries chopped out for what she did to him. Instead, she will get the more humane sentence while her husband suffers her vigilante style justice.

Was the woman's name kartya kokkov?

@LFRAgain: Check the dateline of the story -- it's Taiwan. According to the story, the events took place in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, not Vietnam.

I have ten of one and none (of my own) of the other. Can't say it's ever been a problem.

Its more that statement that I accuse you of poo-poohing than your question cleo.

95% of the time it's the husband who's refusing to let the deed be done - yet the same men are quite happy to have their bitches spayed.

Fair enough. I am not about to make the claim that either sex has appropriate empathy toward the other in general, or that cross gender appreciation of sex parts and sex roles is well established or common. However, I do believe that men in general have more empathy when it comes to removal of a clitoris than women in general do with removal of a penis. Not necessarily accusing them, but since sexual ambivalence is an attractive trait to many men, this is how women have become. Their own clitoris or some man's penis, they just can't see the big loss. Men see the big loss because most of them value sexual pleasure. So many women just don't care for it much.

When that happens to women (to get intimate parts mutilated), that doesn't make the headline news. And for 1 man that gets his bird chopped, there are tens of thousand of women being done the equivalent. A good lawyer could say it's a religious custom and she should go free.

For a man, it's a heat-seeking love missile.

Cos: "When that happens to women (to get intimate parts mutilated), that doesn't make the headline news. And for 1 man that gets his bird chopped, there are tens of thousand of women being done the equivalent. A good lawyer could say it's a religious custom and she should go free."

Actually, there are more and more incidents of genital mutilation of women coming to light and rightfully causing anger around the world. I sure hope you're not suggesting this man's suffering is justified because the suffering of women elsewhere is not as openly portrayed in the media. If anything this should be a chance to open debate on the subject as a whole -- not cast stones or say that one was right because others have been wronged or what have you.

Yet it seems men are so attached to their willies

You stop using my sign in name in this thread and I'll stop giving you the finger.

Maybe it's because men see the clitoris as the female equivalent of the penis and assume the same kind of emotions are attached to it?

I think its the usefulness of the item. People can live with fewer fingers. But lose that, and you will most likely lost the ability to orgasm, which is like losing a free lifetime supply of pleasure on tap. What is life without pleasure?

I don't think it's as simple as 'men enjoy sex more than women do' - in fact I think that's a total fallacy

It would be to generalize all women. I do not. While most men enjoy it and seek it, women run the gamut from complete disinterest to nymphomanics who will drain the life out of the average male. But I do think most women do not see the value that men do. Most women I know I think could never have sex again and still find lots to be happy about. Most men? Absolutely not. Not having sex and not even having any hope of having sex would gnaw away at every little joy.

Im not condoning the mans actions in any way, if true they were apalling, but the womans were equally so. Ladies, lack of the offending article doesnt give you the right to belittle its importance to men. All youre doing is demonstrating your lack of understanding. No penis, no opinion.

The couple had volatile relationship and the events leading up to the assault. She stated that her husband sexually, physically, and emotionally abused her during their marriage. She added that her husband flaunted his infidelities. Several witnesses can provide testimony supporting her claims. Her husbands constant abuse caused her to eventually "snap" as she probably is suffering from clinical depression and a possible bout of post traumatic stress disorder due to the abuse. Most likely, she will be not guilty due to insanity causing an irresistible impulse to sexually wound her husband. As a result, she could not be held liable for her actions.

To extend that idea,

I would be far more sympathetic to her case if she had killed him. Not because living with out a penis is worse than dying (I'm pretty sure it isn't), but that if she had done so she could have reasonably argued she was protecting herself against future abuse. By cutting off his penis it is clear her major goal was to cause pain and suffering, to pay him back for his physical and emotional abuse. I can sympathize, but I can't support such a position.

based largely on the misguided notion that the male sex drive, and by extension, his sex organ, is somehow the most important thing he has to contribute to humanity.

You have got the basis all wrong. Its not about contributing to humanity. Its about a man's own personal happiness and satisfaction with life. Not only just the sheer ability to orgasm normally, but also his ability have sexual relationships with women and his very identity. Some may overstate and claim they would rather be dead, but we all know its an overstatement. The overstatement is made specificially to counter the understatements of how important a man's penis is to him. As pointed out by another, as important as a woman's breasts are to her at least. And we have all heard about the grief women feel over mastectomies, even from grandmas.

As for her action being understandable, that is an overstatement. Surely we can rationalize her behavior, but I would not say that makes it understandable. Understandable would have been leaving him, maybe even throwing something at him. But this action was premeditated and vile beyond my ability to have understanding or to sympathize in any way. I have no idea if her claims against him are real or imagined, but when someone does something this nuts, I tend to think they were nutty to begin with, and therefore, I doubt her claims. Even if they are true, so many things would be understandable. Slicing off his penis and throwing it in the river isn't one of them.

"Flaunting infidelities" is a callous and revolting action. It is not a crime. There are lots of callous and revolting things in this world; I can walk down my street and find two or three without too much trouble. None of these things are crimes. Bodily mutilation of another person, however, is a crime.

To those who say she was boxed in and had no other choice, I say you are wrong: She could have simply walked away.

To those who try to rationalize why it would have been impossible for her to walk away, I ask: Why is the nonviolent solution impossible, while the violent one is acceptable under the circumstances?

To those who say the police would not have given her a fair hearing if she reported her abuse: You may be right, or you may be wrong. We'll never know, will we? But I will say this: If you accept the creation of a society with its laws and police and courts and everything else that goes along with it, you have to accept the system wholeheartedly. If, on the other hand, you think that sort of system is all for show because it doesn't reflect cultural realities, then you are accepting the creation of a second, extralegal society that is disconnected from the pro forma one. That sort of society allows vigilantes, or yakuza, or mafiosi to pretend that they're not really criminals, they're just guys helping the little guy maintain his honor in a cold unfeeling world. But in a democratic society, there shouldn't be a tatemae society floating above a honne society. We are the people who make our systems, and if our systems don't work right, we have to get out there and demand that they work correctly. If a woman reports abuse and is denied justice, we have to see that she gets justice. This particular woman was abused in Taiwan, and from what I know about the Taiwanese, they're far better at voicing their dissatisfaction against injustice than, say, the people of Japan.

Newsman: I am not sure of the whole situation but if she was an immigrant and just walked away from the relationship, she may have to return to Vietnam or try to get a different visa. Maybe life for her in Vietnam was much worst and she doesn't want to go back. Or maybe she has nothing to go back to. No one knows for sure. To say she could just walk away, seems a little simple to me. Of course it would have been great if she took proper legal action, but maybe in her mind it would be have been more problematic than the alternative. Or maybe she just simply wanted her revenge.

Newsman,

"I ask: Why is the nonviolent solution impossible, while the violent one is acceptable under the circumstances?"

And there you have the $64,000 question that's been haunting humanity throughout its existence.

I'm just taking issue with this idea that a person would prefer to lose a finger than a penis. While I'd prefer not to lose any bits, I think the loss of a finger would be pretty devastating.

Ok. But why are you taking issue? I wouldn't presume to question the value of a breast or uterus to a female. I would have no basis of comparison.

Why does anyone, male or female, put up with a bad relationship? Not just a bad one, but a horrible one. Don't say it is for "love" because you don't beat people you love nor do you mutilate them. Especially in her case there was not one positive point to stay together, so why did she mentally and physically submit herself to cruelty for so long. She could have left early, saved herself the pain and the jail time. I wish the whole world would WAKE-UP and find some common sense. This applies to many things in life. If something is not working out, don't go down with the ship. Cut your loses and start again.

Triumvere - maybe 'take issue' was a bit strong. I just find it strange, is all. Posters of the male persuasion are telling us their penises are more important to them than their fingers. That's their opinion. I'm saying my fingers are very, very important to me. That's my opinion. I don't think I'm 'presuming to question' anything.

Jobless, feckless, drug addled, violent, randy, arrogant - sounds like there was a good bit of ugly on the husband's side

That she had NO idea about before she married him, I suppose.

Years of abuse? I don't see anywhere in the article anything that said she was chained in the house. She could have dumped the loser.

She 'snapped' my arse....most of these crimes by women are premeditated. This man took the drugs on his own, but in the majority of these cases you read that the women drugged the men and then attacked them, that's not 'snapping'. Two years he beats her and she doesn't leave?

There is no excuse to mutilate another human being. No one here would go along with it if it happened to their own son...

@cleo

Triumvere - maybe 'take issue' was a bit strong. I just find it strange, is all. Posters of the male persuasion are telling us their penises are more important to them than their fingers. That's their opinion. I'm saying my fingers are very, very important to me. That's my opinion. I don't think I'm 'presuming to question' anything.

Fudge 'em, honey.. Had he chopped the woman's breasts or something else, people would have been laughing their ass off. Isn't that right? I could care less if he had his filthy penis cut off or not, the fact of the matter is that he was nothing but plain SCUM. and I'm going to admit that while I personally wouldn't mutilate someone, even if that person was horrible to me, I'm hella glad she did what she did to me. He wasn't a real man, but a worthless POS. Probably his penis is already inside some animal's stomach already... Hahahahaha Screw him~

Oppsss, I meant to say: she did what she did to HIM.

Anyways, honestly speaking from my heart... I wouldn't do such thing to someone, ever. I think if I was caught in a situation where my life was in imminent danger then I'd probably beat the person with something hard, like an iron or skillet, then call the cops. Make sure the person is down unconscious! But cutting his genitals? Not such good idea, I'm too icky to hold a penis and cut it off....yuck

Husband here doesn't need to be afraid of anything like that. If he ever decides to go fool around with another woman, and I find out, his life is OVER. Next thing he knows, he'll come back to a house empty without his wife and children. Sayonara and good luck! :)

I don't think this is on the same level as the issue of FGM. Sure she could have found other ways to extract revenge, But no matter how much you discuss it there are going to be very few if any people who will disagree that the guy deserved it,

A bit drastic, surely a divorce taking him for every penny he has would have been a preferable source of revenge

Maybe she should have her womb removed in punishment.

(Not serious, but just to get the readers focussed clearly on the emotional issues involved here.)

steve@CPFCOct. 17, 2011 - 08:16AM JST Ms O'Neill; I think that his drug habit would have made him penniless

BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! It did!!!

I can't believe nobody else caught this jem.

On the bright side, historical accounts seem to indicate that they have lovely singing voices.

Wrong part.

Put Pan, Sada Abe and Loretta Bobbitt in the same room and who do they represent? None but eachother. To make generalized statements about women based on this incident is crazy, unfair and maybe also paranoid. 99.999 percent of the time when a man cheats, his wife or girlfriend would not do this if she could and most would not even imagine it.

So chill. There is no need to make an example of this woman. Just lock her up for the prescribed time for this outrageous act of overkill revenge.

But if we were going eye for an eye, I would say that one penis is worth one clitoris at the least.

I'm guessing that his abuse did not leave her without the use of an organ or a limb.

I'm guessing that 2 years' of violent abuse left her pretty badly emotionally traumatised, which can be harder to put right than a physical injury.

Look at cleo who poo-poos the idea that a penis is worth more than a finger! No clue I say.

'poo-poo'? moi? I just asked a question. Given the choice, there are lots of bits of me that I would let go before I would let them take my fingers. Yet it seems men are so attached to their willies they would go through hell and high water to hang onto it. I've noticed when a family has an unfixed male dog, 95% of the time it's the husband who's refusing to let the deed be done - yet the same men are quite happy to have their bitches spayed. I'm not accusing - just trying to get my head around the importance to the average man of his willie, and indeed willies in general.

Notthesame -

I do believe that men in general have more empathy when it comes to removal of a clitoris than women in general do with removal of a penis

I agree with you. Maybe it's because men see the clitoris as the female equivalent of the penis and assume the same kind of emotions are attached to it? As I said, this is something I genuinely do not understand. I don't think it's as simple as 'men enjoy sex more than women do' - in fact I think that's a total fallacy - but while I can imagine a time when I'm older and have no more use for my sexual organs, I cannot imagine a time when I have no more use for my fingers, except when I'm laid out on a cold slab and no more use for anything at all.

smitty - Your point about the human desire to reproduce is well taken, but again, that cannot be the whole of it. Men who have no intention of ever becoming a father, or whose baby-making days are long past, have the same reaction to the very idea of losing a willy as their younger brothers. I know a number of women who have lost breasts, wombs and ovaries to cancer, and while there is of course some sadness in losing any part of the body, in the vast majority of cases that I know of, the overwhelming reaction is, 'Thank heavens the bad bits have been cut away, now I don't have cancer any more'. One young friend who found she had breast cancer in her 30s did go through a soul-searching period, but told me the loss of her hair from the chemo upset her much more than the loss of her breast, which was trying to kill her anyway.

I'm not saying there aren't women who go through a 'What makes me a woman?' identity crisis when they have a mastectomy or a hysterectomy; but it seems to me that on the whole women take a much more pragmatic view of their bits than men do. Of course no one wants to lose any bits, but given the choice I'd want to hang onto my fingers, eyes, and the squishy stuff between my ears, maybe not in that exact order.

And male dogs need to be fixed every bit as much as female dogs.

Cleo, your misandry is unbecoming. Saving the whole by exacting a cancer is a poor straw-man for hacking off another's limbs. Pan's pride is the real problem here.

gachapin, you've missed the mark completely. Read the thread and you'll see that I was responding to (and questioning) a remark that taking off one of the man's fingers would have been preferable to throwing his penis in the river. The question of the response to losing parts to cancer was smitty's, not mine.

No one is suggesting that there is any equivalence between life-saving medical treatment and violent assault.

Notthesame - I do not think I would be happy with fewer fingers.

Good for her! He deserved it!

smitty, I'm certainly not defending her actions or saying that he 'deserved' it or that the 'punishment' was 'justified'. In my first post on this thread I said clearly that I did not approve of what she did. I'm just taking issue with this idea that a person would prefer to lose a finger than a penis. While I'd prefer not to lose any bits, I think the loss of a finger would be pretty devastating.

THere was a story like this by another Vietnamese woman here in America.. she cut off her husbands penis then put it in the garbag disposal... i wonder when these women are going to start dating again....

Cleo , Males dont urinate through their fingers..only 1 place, nor can they reproduce with their fingers, nor does a finger identfy them as male or not. Think your stance would be different if somebody started mutilating thier female friends nether region for having an affair.

@southsakai

This is why i don't play around any silly games. My wife said she'll do the same thing to me if something this sort ever happens so I just hang around idle like a cucumber all this years in fear of my penis being forever chopped and gone!

Hahahahahaha this post made my day!! LOL

Depends on how much it costs to be reconstructed, money-wise that is.

Either way sick crime, maybe he can make a living doing porn like the other Penile amputee.

Cutting off his penis is a bit far.... but I think he defiantly deserved something harsh like this

PS Nothing hurts more then a smack in the wallet

She could have just shaved him so that when it grows back it would itch. Shave it once and you can never go back.

Sounds like the guy was a scumbag. Perhaps she should have severed the remainder of his penis, too. Hope she escapes her trip to hell ...

At least he doesn't have to ask his wife to blow his paycheck.

haha good job ......

A penis is worth more than a finger?

I suppose she could have clubbed him to death as he slept.

Jobless, feckless, drug addled, violent, randy, arrogant - sounds like there was a good bit of ugly on the husband's side, and while I don't approve of cutting off other people's appendages without their permission something tells me the court will take the circumstances into account and show leniency.

I hope they do. If the article is accurate, she's already had two years of hell.

This is proof of how territorial women are. It doesn't matter if you are a human or an animal, the female of the species is the most dangerous. Funny our laws don't properly reflect that.

I think it was maybe 2 months ago, not sure which zoo it was but I read that there were two female tigers and 1 male placed in the same (Ack forgot the word for that) habitat. Anyway, one female tiger got so jealous that she killed the male tiger.

Now the thing is we humans claim to be the higher, the most intelligent species on this planet but right here we can see that at times we are just like animals.

I think she should life in prison. It's a form of sexual assault. She should be classified as a sex offender so that when she does get out she can be kept away from boys and other men can be warned.

I think these kinds of acts happen more often than we hear about. Some men ask the police not to report it. Just like women who have been assaulted, there's some shame in being the victim of a sexual assault.

If she threw it in the river, it would be no more than a morsel for the fishes.

Why bother re-attaching it, when he doesn't know how to use it properly in the first place?

not life threatening, i guess since there is no comment from medical expert.

She could have beat him as he slept. She could have had an affair of her own. She could have cut off a finger even. She could have divorced him a long time ago.

I hope she gets the full 12 years. I know people will post jokes from now, but this is really not funny nor is it appropriate revenge. It is right on the level of category three female genital mutilation and no one is laughing at or promoting that. It also seems to be sparked mostly my jealousy, one of the ugliest emotions going and it should not be promoted either.