Four family members brutally murdered in northern Vietnam

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Four family members in the northern province of Lao Cai were found murdered on Tuesday in a case that has left the public horrified by its brutality.

On August 9, Tan Ong Nai, 22, found the body of his two-year-old daughter Tan Mai Phuong in a stream 50 meters from his house on his way home from work. Nai tried to get into the house to search for the rest of his family, but found the front door was locked. Instead he went around the back and entered the house to find a gun booby-trap inside.

Lao Cai Police arrived at the scene the next day and discovered the body of Nai’s wife (Tan Ta May) and his other daughter (Tan Thuy Van), who was only 20 days old, in a pond near their home.

Nai’s niece Tan Thuy Chi, 6, were subsequently found dead in a ditch 100 meters from the home. The family's house had been ransacked, and VND14 million (US$628) in cash was stolen.

After killing the four, the perpetrator also set trap with a handmade gun in the kitchen. According to an official, it was designed to fire when someone opened the door. "The purpose of setting this trap gun was to kill the husband once he came back, but fortunately he went in through the back door," said a source from the investigation team.

The examination of the scene and post mortems were completed by noon the same day. Police said they had found a handmade gun and several stones suspected of being the murder weapons. They concluded that Tan Ta May had been beaten to death while the three children had been drowned.

Lao Cai Police have launched a manhunt and experienced officers from the Criminal Police Department (Ministry of Public Security) have joined the investigation.

A source said police are looking for a 24-year-old man who lives in the same village as the victims. He is the only suspect so far. Yesterday, investigators identified his location as Coc My Commune, Bat Xat District, about 10 kilometers from the border with China. This is a vast mountainous and dangerous area and the suspect is thought to be carrying a homemade gun.

Local authorities have sent VND10 million ($448) in support of the victims’ family.

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