Police in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on Friday announced the details of a murder in which a Chinese man strangled a compatriot to death and butchered her body for disposal to evade a US$61,000 gambling debt.

Xiao Qui Ping, 27, admitted killing Bao Dan Ping, 30, after the two Chinese nationals argued over gambling money, according to Tran Muu, deputy director of Da Nang police bureau.

Xiao is a frequent gambler at a casino at the Crowne Plaza resort in Da Nang’s Ngu Hanh Son District while the victim is a friend of his 27-year-old Chinese girlfriend.

After learning that Xiao recently won big, Bao agreed to give the man money to gamble under the condition that any gain or loss would be split evenly between the two.

Initially, Xiao gambled with Bao's money and won $34,000, which he did share with her as promised.

Confident in Xiao's gambling skills, Bao gave him another $61,000, which the man soon gambled away.

The 30-year-old woman then insisted Xiao owed her $61,000 instead of $30,500 as they had agreed beforehand, the man told the police.

Xiao Qui Ping is investigated at the police in the central city of Da Nang on February 7, 2020, in this supplied photo

Around 4:30 pm on Thursday, Bao arrived at 14 Truong Van Hien Street in Ngu Hanh Son District to meet Xiao to ask for the $61,000.

As their conversation heated up, Xiao used a rope to strangle Bao to death.

The man then used a knife to butcher Bao's body and placed a part of it in a suitcase and the remaining in a trash can in his room. 

On Thursday evening, Xiao rode a motorbike to carry the suitcase containing Bao's remains to Hoi An City in the neighboring province of Quang Nam, which is located some 42 kilometers from the center of Da Nang, with the intention of disposing of the suitcase there, but he failed.

He then returned to Da Nang and threw the suitcase over Tran Thi Ly Bridge in Hai Chau District into the Han River.

The suitcase was discovered by some local fishermen on Friday morning, while the other parts of the victim were also found on the same morning under a bench on the bank of the Han River in Ngu Hanh Son District.

Xiao was arrested a few hours later.

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