China has announced over the weekend the arrest of a murder suspect, who local media reports have tagged as responsible for the brutal killings of at least 11 individuals, most of them young men residing in and around Yunnan, a province located southwest of the country.

The Associated Press (AP) attributed on Sunday the official news release to the nation's Ministry of Public Security but more grisly details have been provided by newspapers being published in Hong Kong and other Chinese regions.

The story was also carried by online news sites seen in China and around the world, providing horrific information on the alleged crimes committed by the suspect, who was identified by Xinhua, China's official news agency, as 56-year-old Zhang Yoming.

Local reports picked up by Agence France Presse (AFP) painted Mr Zhang as an unrepentant serial killer, who was previously convicted of murder but regained his freedom in 1997.

He was believed to have preyed on young men who wandered late nights near his residence in Yunnan.

Beijing's official release said that Mr Zhang was believed to have attacked his victims and killed them for reasons still being established by local police authorities.

"After the murders, Zhang used various means, including dismemberment, burning and burial, to destroy the evidence," the ministry news release said.

The public security ministry also assumed that Mr Zhang had slaughtered as many as 11 persons, disclosing that "a large amount of physical evidence and DNA comparisons," supported its findings so far.

Print and online news that covered the story carried claim that the arrested suspect may have committed cannibal acts in connection with the multiple murders and some of the victims' body parts may have been offered for a price by Mr Zhang to unidentified customers, who the reports said were clues that they purchased human body parts.

However, the gruesome details were suppressed on Xinhua's handling of the case, AFP said on its report, partly to kill off the brewing online chatters that were sparked by the shocking case.

AP has highlighted on its report that local authorities may have responded a bit late on earlier indications that a number of young men had gone missing, which was supported by claims filed by the victims' families.

Online forums, news agencies said, carried remarks from frustrated posters that said further killings could have been prevented had the Yunnan police acted earlier and decisively.

Beijing has issued assurance that the case has attracted an in-depth probe and local officials that will be found sleeping on their jobs will be punished accordingly once the investigation has been concluded.