Wives getting back at their cheating, boozing husbands by taking a kitchen knife to their private parts has become an unusual trend in southern Vietnam, local newspapers report.
Lao Dong (The Worker) newspaper said last week there have been seven cases of women severing their husbands' penises in the past year, all within 150km of Ho Chi Minh City.
Eight similar cases were reported in 2004 in the same region.
Newspaper reports say in most cases the wives were exacting revenge for their husbands' extramarital affairs, excessive drinking, violent behaviour, or some combination.
The men's cua quy - 'prized possession' - was successfully reattached in all but three of the 15 cases, reporter Cong Tuan said, although it is unknown how well they functioned after reattachment.
The apparent trend is particularly unusual in Vietnam, where women have traditionally played a docile role and violent crime of any kind is still relatively rare.