Cannibal brothers killed 13

2005-04-29 10:47

Beijing - Two brothers have been arrested and charged with murdering 13 prostitutes, slicing up their bodies and eating their kidneys in a 15-month crime spree across northern China, state press reported on Friday.

Shen Changyin and Shen Changpin are being charged with carrying out the grisly murders from June 2003 to August 2004 in five northern provinces and regions, the China News Service reported.

"In one case, the two Shens cut up three prostitutes, used acid to decompose the bodies and then deposed of the remains including the organs and hair in a local drain while frying up the kidneys and eating them," the report said.

In another case, the two men, both unemployed and in their twenties, used a meat mincer to dispose of a body and refrigerated the kidneys to eat later, it added.

The brothers were also charged with threatening four other women to help them find the victims for their crimes, which took place in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Anhui and Hebei, the report said.

The four women are also under arrest and all the suspects are all being held in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province.

The crimes took place either at the homes of the accused or the victims, the report said, adding that the Shen brothers, one aged 29 and the other 21, were unemployed workers from the central province of Henan.

China is witnessing a shocking rise in violent crimes. Many observers have linked the increased criminal activity, including widespread prostitution, to growing unemployment and the widening rich-poor gap.

- AFP