Police in northern Ha Giang Province reported that they have arrested three men who killed and beheaded a man after taking VND1 million (US$48) from the victim two months ago. They have been identified as Sung Mi Po, 31, Sung Mi Cho, 28, and Sung Mi Ninh, 23, all of whom belong to the Nung minority ethnic group and reside in Nam Ban Commune, Meo Vac District, reported Colonel Vu Truong Giang, head of the Social Crime Investigation Police Department. The victim was Trang A Mieu, 42, of the Dao minority ethnic group, who lived in Mau Due commune, Yen Minh District. According to the case file, at 8:30 am on August 5, 2013, a local resident found a beheaded male body hidden in an area in Nam Ban Commune and reported the case to police, who came to examine the scene and performed an autopsy. An investigation was then launched and after three months, police tracked down the three suspects.   After their arrest, the three men pleaded guilty to killing Mieu. According to their testimonies, on August 4, Po met Mieu on a path that lead to a forest and Mieu asked Po, “Do you have cows for sale?” Po answered “No,” but noted to himself that Mieu probably had a lot of money on him if he was planning on making such a large purchase.

Sung Mi Sinh, one of the three men who killed and beheaded a man after taking VND1 million (US$48) from the victim (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Po then came up with the idea of killing Mieu to steal his money. At 9 pm the same day, Po shared his plan with Cho and Sinh, who had come to visit him at his home. His two friends agreed to the plan and prepared a sharp knife and a wooden stick with which to kill Mieu.  Knowing that Mieu would pass Po’s house on his way home, Po, Cho, and Sinh planned to lie in wait and attack him when he drove by. They hid themselves in bushes on a path and waited for Mieu to come. Soon, they spotted a man travelling on a motorbike. Knowing that it was Mieu, they stopped and killed him. They then cut off the head and threw the head and the body in two different places far away from the scene. They also hid the motorbike in an area after removing the license plate. They took a wallet containing VND1 million (US$48) and some papers from Mieu. Po gave Cho and Sinh VND333,000 each and kept the remainder.