vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #558 / Crime watch / Reading article...

An unidentified Chinese man attacked two Russian women in the town of Heihe on Sunday, fatally injuring one of his victims with a knife and wounding another on her shoulder, Amur region officials reported.

The two women Nina Shcherbakova and Svetlana Butuzova arrived on a shopping tour to Heihe in Heilongjiang Province, from the village of Lermontovka in the Amur region of Russia. The Chinese national approached the women and stabbed Shcherbakova to death while snatching her bag. Shcherbakova, 56, died at the scene. The attacker then injured the other woman, Butuzova, on her arm and escaped. Butuzova was taken to the hospital in Heihe.

Amur Governor Leonid Korotkov addressed the authorities of Heihe, urging them to promptly investigate the incident, local news reports said citing a press statement from his office.

Heihe sits on the opposite side of the Russian Amur River and has become a popular destination for Russian tourists over recent years. However, tense relations between the Chinese residents and Russian tourists have lately resulted in a number of serious incidents.

In February 2005, a 37-year-old man from Blagoveshchensk was killed in a skirmish with Chinese men at a disco party in Heihe. Another five of the Russian fight participants received blade wounds. The Chinese resident, who faced charges of murder, has recently been found guilty and was sentenced to life in prison by a Chinese court.