3 murdered children buried in central China

Three children who were kidnapped and murdered by a fellow villager in central China's Hunan province last Wednesday were buried on Monday afternoon after their parents reached agreement with the local government over compensation.

The three children, two girls and a boy aged eight to nine, were buried at Nanyuan village, Gangkou township, Yueyang city, according to the township government.

Each of their families has received 20,000 (3,253 US dollars) yuan and will get a total of 100,000 yuan from the government as compensation.

Zhang Xingyan, 33, is suspected to have lured the children to a car at a crossroads one km from their home, when they were on their way to board the school bus at about 6 a.m. last Wednesday.

Their bodies were found on Friday night after Zhang was seized by police on Friday evening, according to Zhu Chunhui, a police officer with the Yueyang municipal public security bureau.

Zhang confessed to police that he kidnapped the children for money, said Zhu.

Zhang Nianyong, whose grandson and granddaughter were kidnapped, received an anonymous call believed to be from the suspect on Thursday night. He asked for a 900,000-yuan ransom, according to the police.

Zhang Xingyan is a neighbor and distant relative of the victims. He once opened a firecrackers factory but lost more than 100,000 yuan, according to local villagers.