Official killed during dog theft in Vietnam

Police in northern Vietnam were searching for a man suspected of killing of a government official while stealing his dog.

Nguyen Trung Hieu, 30, an official with the Bac Ninh provincial People's Committee, exited his house Tuesday to discover a man trying to take his pet and chased him, Bac Ninh city police chief Nguyen Van Chien said.

The thief then fatally shot Hieu and escaped with the dog, Chien said.

The slaying was the first motivated by a dog theft in the province, Chien said.

Dog thefts are becoming common in Vietnam, where the animals are usually stolen to be sold to dog meat restaurants.

A similar incident resulted in one villager injured and a suspect arrested Tuesday in the central province of Nghe An.

Two suspects tried to ward off villagers with knives as they were being chased after residents said the pair was discovered trying to steal canines, Nghi Loc district police said. One villager was cut, and one of the suspects escaped but the villagers caught the other suspect and beat him unconscious, police said. He was arrested.