Two police officers in central Vietnam will be prosecuted for "using corporal punishment" on a woman last year, according to the highest prosecutor’s office.

Nguyen Dinh Quyet and Tran Ba Tuan, both police investigators of the coastal resort town of Nha Trang, are charged with having physically assaulted 41-year-old Tran Thi Lan when she was in custody.

Lan was arrested on November 29 last year for allegedly stealing US$1,700 and VND7 million ($341) from a house where she worked as a housekeeper.

The next day she was rushed to a local hospital from police station with many bruises on her body.

Lan has said that the officers slapped her, and beat her with rubber sticks in an attempt to force her to admit to the theft.