A mentally-ill man died on Saturday afternoon choking on an uncooked dog’s heart; while a suspected dog thief was beaten to death, again, on the same day.

The two incidents took place in the northern provinces of Thanh Hoa and Quang Ninh.

N. B. C., a 52-year-old mental illness sufferer, died on Friday evening after trying to swallow an uncooked dog’s heart,   according to a source in Thanh Hoa Province’s Tinh Gia District on Saturday.

C. was dozing off in front of a grocery store in his neighborhood on Friday evening, when a dog meat peddler nearby displayed dogs’ meat and organs for sale.

C. woke up and without warning, grabbed a dog’s heart and tried to swallow it.

He then choked on it and died soon afterwards though locals offered him prompt resuscitation.

C. has three children and often roams the street.

In other news, a dog thief was beaten to death by around 100 furious locals in Quang Ninh Province’s Dong Trieu District around 9pm on Friday, Ngo Quang Khai, vice head of the district’s police, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) Newspaper.

The deceased was later identified as 35-year-old Tran Van Kha, who lived in the same district.

His accomplice, Bui Van Dang, 41, is critically injured from the beating.

During their flight after being caught in the act, the two men fired their home-made gun at their pursuers, but the gun failed to fire off.

The outraged residents also set fire to the thieves’ motorbike.

Reckless dog thieves previously killed some pursuers when trying to flee.

Some pursuers were also killed during the chases.

The latest incident, which happened on December 20, 2014, saw two young men clubbed to death by angry residents in northern Thanh Hoa Province’s Thach Thanh mountainous district.