Institute for Migrant Rights
Railway line at Cianjur station, c. 1890 · KITLV, CC BY 4.0

Migration Jurisprudence from the South › Japan

Le Thi Thuy Linh case (technical intern acquitted)

Supreme Court of Japan · Japan · 2023-03-24 · National court

Citation: [case number to be added]
Type of case: Criminal
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

Was a Vietnamese technical intern who gave birth alone to stillborn twins guilty of abandoning their bodies?

What the court decided

No. Her conduct did not amount to abandonment; the conviction was quashed.

In plain language

A young Vietnamese woman working on a farm in Japan hid her pregnancy because she feared being sent home. Her twins were stillborn and she was convicted of abandoning their bodies. The Supreme Court acquitted her.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Seorang perempuan muda Vietnam yang bekerja di pertanian di Jepang menyembunyikan kehamilannya karena takut dipulangkan. Bayi kembarnya lahir meninggal dan ia divonis menelantarkan jenazah. MA membebaskannya.

Pertanyaan: Apakah pekerja magang asal Vietnam yang melahirkan sendiri bayi kembar yang meninggal bersalah menelantarkan jenazah?

What happened afterwards

  • 2020-11: Babies stillborn; she is arrested.
  • 2023-03-24: Acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Sources

Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).

Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/jp-le-thi-thuy-linh-2023/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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