A man suspected of being involved in a family murder case was
arrested on Monday in a southern Chinese village near Hong Kong,
said the Shantou Police Bureau on Thursday.
The suspect named Yan is the son of Yan Zhongxi, one of the
dead, said Lin Yangxi, director of the publicity office of the
Shantou Police Bureau.
Police said Yan Zhongxi colluded with his wife and son to kill
Yao Yongqiang, 45, in a paddy field near Baishayun village on the
outskirts of Shantou City in Guangdong Province. After the killing he told
his son to flee before going with his wife to Yao's home where they
murdered four members of the deceased's family. Yan and his wife
committed suicide at the scene.
Police said Yan Zhongxi had been cheated out of several thousand
yuan by Yao Yongqiang who'd offered to get Yan's son a Thailand
passport. Villagers said Yao may have spent the money on lotteries.
Yan tried several times to get the money back before the killings,
said local police.
On Monday six bodies with their throats cut were found in Yao
Yongqiang's house shortly after Yao's body had been found in a
nearby field. The victims included Yao's wife, mother, son and
daughter as well as Yan Zhongxi and his wife.
The oldest victim was 81 and the youngest 14. The police
investigation continues. The Ministry of Public Security has
ordered that crimes involving the deaths of several people should
be resolved promptly.
A Chinese farmer named Qiu Xinghua was executed last year in
northwest China after being convicted of murdering 10 people with
an axe in a Taoist temple.
(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)