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Four prison guards have been suspended after a Vietnamese woman on death rowimpregnated herself with a fellow inmate's semen to escape execution.

Nguyen Thi Hue, 42, paid a 27-year-old convict 50million Vietnamese Dong (£1,600) for his sperm, investigators said.

The male prisoner, Nguyen Tuan Hung, handed over his semen in syringes to Hue on two occasions in August 2015, the state-owned Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

The convicted drug trafficker then fell pregnant after artificially inseminating herself at the prison in the northern province of Quang Ninh.

Investigators and prosecutors have now confirmed that Hue is due to give birth in April.

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(Image: BBC)

In Vietnam, a pregnant woman or a mother whose child is less than 36 months old cannot be sentenced to death.

If a death sentences has already been imposed, it must be reduced to life imprisonment, Thanh Nien reported.

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Hue, from Lang Son Province, was arrested in Quang Ninh in 2012 on suspicion of drug trafficking.

She was convicted and sentenced to death in 2014.

In 2007, Vietnamese death row prisoner, Nguyen Thi Oanh, fell pregnant after having sex with a male inmate.

The convicted drug smuggler gave birth to a son in March 2007 and was spared the death penalty.

Two prison officers, in Hoa Binh Province, were jailed for their part in the plot, Thanh Nien reported.