[SC] Vietnamese police are investigating a man for allegedly raping his daughter nearly every day for the past four years, authorities said Monday.

The man, 39, was questioned by police Saturday in Bu Gia Map district in southern Binh Phuoc province and is still being investigated by authorities, a local police officer said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The man's wife and daughter reported the case to police in Hung Long village on Friday, the officer said.
Child rape is a serious offense in Vietnam and can result in the death penalty. However, cases involving incest rarely become public.

The girl told police the assaults began in June 2006, when she was 11. She said her father forced himself on her in her bedroom or in the kitchen nearly every day, according to the officer.

The mother told police she caught her husband raping their daughter about a month ago, but the man begged her not to report it and promised not to do it again, the officer said.

As time passed, he became angry with her for shielding their daughter from him and he beat the mother up, prompting her to report the case, she told police.

The girl, who is now 16 and in the 10th grade, was taken to a hospital Saturday for a checkup, and doctors determined that she had been raped, the officer said.

The girl, the eldest of three daughters, is now staying with her grandparents, he said, adding that villagers have become outraged by news of the incident and are demanding that the man be jailed. - AP