A man suspected of being involved in a family murder case was arrested on Monday in a southern Chinese village near Hong Kong, said the Shantou Police Bureau on Thursday.

The suspect named Yan is the son of Yan Zhongxi, one of the dead, said Lin Yangxi, director of the publicity office of the Shantou Police Bureau.

Police said Yan Zhongxi colluded with his wife and son to kill Yao Yongqiang, 45, in a paddy field near Baishayun village on the outskirts of Shantou City in Guangdong Province. After the killing he told his son to flee before going with his wife to Yao's home where they murdered four members of the deceased's family. Yan and his wife committed suicide at the scene.

Police said Yan Zhongxi had been cheated out of several thousand yuan by Yao Yongqiang who'd offered to get Yan's son a Thailand passport. Villagers said Yao may have spent the money on lotteries. Yan tried several times to get the money back before the killings, said local police.

On Monday six bodies with their throats cut were found in Yao Yongqiang's house shortly after Yao's body had been found in a nearby field. The victims included Yao's wife, mother, son and daughter as well as Yan Zhongxi and his wife.

The oldest victim was 81 and the youngest 14. The police investigation continues. The Ministry of Public Security has ordered that crimes involving the deaths of several people should be resolved promptly.

A Chinese farmer named Qiu Xinghua was executed last year in northwest China after being convicted of murdering 10 people with an axe in a Taoist temple.

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)