Heartbreaking tragedies during the 'Ghost Month'

Two leaders in Yen Bai were shot dead.The bloody massacre that killed four members of a family in Yen Bai; the young mother who murdered her three children in Lao Cai;... these are some of the horrific crimes that have stirred public outrage during the "ghost month".

1. Two leaders of Yen Bai province were shot in their offices.

On the morning of August 18th (the 16th day of the 7th lunar month), Pham Duy Cuong, Secretary of the Yen Bai Provincial Party Committee, and Ngo Ngoc Tuan, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council and Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department, were shot and seriously wounded in their office by Do Cuong Minh, Head of the Yen Bai Provincial Forestry Department. Minh then used the same gun to commit suicide. All three men subsequently died in the hospital.

From left to right: Mr. Minh, the suspect who shot and killed Mr. Cuong (middle) and Mr. Tuan.

According to Major General Dang Tran Chieu, Director of the Yen Bai Provincial Police, during the scene investigation, authorities determined that the perpetrator fired eight shots. Four bullets were found in the Provincial Party Secretary's office, and four bullets were also found in the Provincial Party Organization Committee's office.

Following the incident, the Criminal Investigation Department of the Yen Bai Provincial Police officially initiated a criminal case for this exceptionally serious murder.

2. Police lieutenant beaten to death on his way to work.

On August 3rd (the 1st day of the 7th lunar month), public opinion was stirred by the news that Lieutenant Do Tuan Hoan (born in 1987, a police officer in Quoc Oai district) was beaten to death by three individuals: Dao Van Vinh (born in 1977, residing in Quoc Oai, Hanoi), Nguyen Van Thuy (born in 1988, residing in Ba Vi, Hanoi), and Nguyen Quang Duyen (born in 1986, residing in Phuc Tho, Hanoi) on his way to work.

Three individuals involved in the fatal assault of a police lieutenant have been arrested by investigators (from left to right: Duyen, Thuy, and Vinh).

The incident occurred when the three suspects were traveling in a taxi on the dike road. When their attempt to overtake Officer Hoan's vehicle was unsuccessful, the suspects became enraged, overtook him, blocked his car, and assaulted him to death. The police are currently finalizing the case file to prosecute the suspects according to the law.

3. Massacre of 4 people in Lao Cai

On August 9th (the 7th day of the 7th lunar month), Tan Ong Nai (born in 1994, residing in Phin Ngan village, Trinh Tuong commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province) and his parents returned from working in the fields and discovered his wife, Tan Ta May (born in 1994), dead in a pond about 100m from their house; his daughter, Tan Mai Phuong (born in 2014), dead in a stream with rocks piled on top of her; his second daughter, only 20 days old, and his niece, Tan Thuy Chi (born in 2010), dead in a water ditch about 100m from their house.

The details of the incident were immediately publicized, shocking the public. Authorities quickly launched an investigation and confirmed it was a murder.

Suspect Tan Lao Lo (small photo) and the crime scene.

The suspect has been identified as Tan Lao Lo (24 years old, a local resident), who had a romantic relationship with Ms. May (Mr. Nai's wife). After the incident, Lo fled into the forest. To date, nearly a month later, the police have mobilized hundreds of officers to set up checkpoints to apprehend Lo, but he remains at large.

4. Former son-in-law murders mother-in-law and sister-in-law.

On August 11th (the 9th day of the 7th lunar month), Nguyen Van Tuan (born in 1972, residing in Vu Thu district, Thai Binh province) used a large knife to stab and kill Mrs. Nguyen Thi Tinh (60 years old, Tuan's former mother-in-law) and Ms. Bui Thi Hue (born in 1978, his former sister-in-law).

The suspect is Nguyen Van Tuan.

It is known that Nguyen Van Tuan was previously married to Bui Thi Huong, the daughter of Mrs. Tinh, but they divorced. While they were still married, Huong received 10 million VND from Hue to help her go to Taiwan. When she went to work abroad, Huong sent money back to her father-in-law to repay Hue.

However, after divorcing Ms. Huong, Tuan repeatedly claimed that the 10 million VND was a loan from Ms. Hue, and he continuously demanded the 30 million VND, including both principal and interest. On August 11th, Tuan went to Ms. Hue's shop with a large knife and stabbed Ms. Hue and his former mother-in-law to death.

5. A mother in her 20s murdered her three young children, set her house on fire, and then fled into the forest.

While the perpetrator of the massacre that claimed the lives of four members of a family in Lao Cai had yet to be apprehended, on August 15th (the 13th day of the 7th lunar month), public opinion was once again shaken by the news that 25-year-old Phan Mui May (residing in Quang Minh village, Quang Nguyen commune, Xin Man district) had killed her three children, set fire to her house, and then fled into the deep forest.

At the police station, May honestly confessed to all her criminal acts.

Driven by jealousy and anger towards her husband, Mẩy bought pesticide and mixed it with rice for her and her four children to eat, but they didn't die. Afterward, she used a rope to strangle her three young children, Triệu Mùi Mụi (5 years old), Triệu Vàn Chòi (3 years old), and Triệu Thị Huệ (14 months old), to death before setting the house on fire. Mẩy herself fled into the forest. On the evening of August 16th, Mẩy was apprehended by the Hà Giang Provincial Police while hiding in the forest.

According to VOV