A resident of Ma Lu Thang Village in the northern province of Dien Bien found three people hacked to death in a field shack last weekend.

The murders took place in the province’s Huoi Lang Commune, Muong Cha District.

The Muong Cha District police have verified that the three victims were Sung Sai Do, 67, his wife Vu Thi Do, 66, and son, Sung A Ho, 16.

Director of the Dien Bien provincial police, Major General Sung A Hong, visited the murder scene and directly managed the investigation.

The suspected murderer has been identified as the victims’ neighbour, Sung A Tho, 31.

A conflict over agricultural land between the two families is said to be the reason why Sùng A Tho hacked the three victims to death and ran away.

Recognising that such a particularly heinous crime can incite fear and confusion among the people in remote areas, the provincial police established a task force and mobilised all resources to apprehend the suspect.

Yesterday afternoon, police found the suspect unconscious in another village in the commune. He was found to have ingested the highly poisonous ngón leaves (heartbreak grass). The suspect was rushed to local health station, but did not survive.

Provincial authorities and police have sent condolences and given Sung Sai Do’s family an ex-gratia payment of VNĐ10 million ($440). 

VNS