Police are investigating the suspicious deaths of nine people on Tuesday in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Two other people were injured in the incident at Datachong village in the Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Honghe, said a spokesman for the provincial public security department on Wednesday.

Police were called to the scene at 5:08 AM on Tuesday, where they found Wang Changyi, the "main suspect", had died from pesticide poisoning.

Eight others, including Wang's wife and her relatives, were also found dead and the causes of their deaths were still under investigation, said the spokesman.

The two injured people were receiving treatment in hospital and the police investigation was continuing, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2006)