A Lao village chief was shot dead at his office in Vientiane province on Monday morning following a conflict with a businessman over gold mining in the village, residents with knowledge of the situation said.
The conflict began last week when Vanhsy Phanthachack, 59, and his delegates told the businessman to leave Pakphang village in the province’s Sanakham district, said one of the residents, who like others in the report declined to be identified for safety reasons.
Villagers often complain about gold mining, much of it done by Chinese companies in Laos — among the least developed and poorest countries in Asia — saying it displaces them from land on which they live and farm and pollutes the environment. It is not known whether the businessman was Lao, Chinese or another nationality.
Vanhsy led a village delegation that told the businessman to leave the community, according to a Facebook post by Joseph Akaravong, whose account says he is from Luang Prabang but lives in Paris.
The suspect was seen driving a pickup truck to the village office where he fired a gun four times, killing Vanhsy, at about 9:30 a.m., the post said.
One resident who was not far from the village office at the time of the incident said she heard gunshots and then learned that Vanhsy had been murdered by a gunman.
But she added that she wasn’t sure if the killing was related to the businessman’s gold-mining activities.
Another resident said police officers were collecting evidence in the village.
District police told Radio Free Asia they could not comment on the case which is under investigation.
Police at the Lao Ministry of Public Security said Thursday that the suspect drove a Toyota pickup truck and shot Vanhsy twice in the head and twice in his body.
“We are not sure now if it is related to the conflict of gold-mining operations with businessmen or not,” an officer told RFA. “But we only know that there are some gold-mining operations near this village and within the district.”
Shooting incidents by unknown gunmen to resolve conflicts or get rid of those who defy authority are not uncommon in Laos.
On July 23, Christian pastor Thongkham Philavanh was shot by two unknown men in his home in Oudomxay province in northwestern Laos, and later died upon arrival at the hospital.
His relatives and other Christians said they believed the deadly attack was related to his pastoral activities. Practicing Christians in the one-party communist state are objects of suspicion by authorities and subject to persecution.
Translated by Phouvong. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.