Police said the bomb was in a plastic bag hanging in front of the home of Huynh Ngoc Son, deputy head of the province's Dong Xoai Town police.

Son said he saw the bag hung on his gate in the morning and called police official Truong Tan Hai to check it.

The mine exploded when Hai touched it. He was rushed to Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City the same morning.

Doctors at the hospital said Hai received burns to 15% of his body, mostly on his face.

According to Son, the bombing could have been a revenge attack. He said he had arrested many criminals recently.

Also on Wednesday a strange object, possibly another homemade bomb, was found at the gate of the home of Nguyen Mau Hung, head of the Dong Xoai prosecution office. The object was safely removed.

Thanh Nien News - december 29, 2008