A view of a bakery where four Chinese expatriates were murdered in Port Moresby on Wednesday. Four Chinese nationals have been hacked to death in Port Moresby, with one reportedly beheaded in an attack condemned as "brutal and cowardly" by Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill. Photo: AFP

Four Chinese expats were stabbed to death in a store on Monday in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG), and one of them was beheaded, embassy officials confirmed to the Global Times.

Cao Junjun, a diplomat with the Chinese embassy in PNG, told the Global Times that three men and one woman, all in their 50s, were killed at about 9 pm local time on Monday. The four victims came from Shanghai and had been living in PNG for over a decade.

The store owners, Wang Chuanhai, male, and Jiang Qin, female, were both killed, while one of the store employees, whose identity is still unknown, was beheaded, said Cao.

China has urged PNG to take strong measures to protect the lives and property of the Chinese, and bring the criminals to justice as soon as possible, said Hua Chunying, spokesperson of the foreign ministry in a press conference Wednesday.

The store is a small supermarket and bakery located in the center of the capital. It was closed and eight Papua New Guinean employees were baking bread on the first floor when the attackers broke in.

A total of five Chinese staff members were on the second floor when they heard the noise.

Two went downstairs but didn't return, and the other three went down only to find the others had been killed.

The owner's young brother, Wang Chuanjiang, rushed back upstairs and shut the door. He was the only Chinese survivor.

Wang Chuanjiang saw one masked suspect, while the local employees, who all escaped unharmed, said they saw more than one. Only some of the cash in the store went missing, said Cao, adding that Wang Chuanjiang remains in good health.

Cao rushed to the scene one hour after the attack. All eight local employees had gone before he arrived.

They have now been located and are being watched by the police. An investigation is underway, said Cao.

Some relatives of the deceased flew to the city the next day, and more are applying for visas. The bodies are being kept in a local funeral home, Cao said.

PNG Prime Minister Peter O'Neill Wednesday condemned the killing in a statement, saying "I want to assure the government of China and relatives of those killed that police will get all the help necessary to track down and bring the perpetrators to justice."

Li Baohui, a staff member with the Economic and Commercial Counselor's Office of the Chinese embassy, told the Global Times that the office has informed all Chinese expats and the staff of Chinese enterprises and China-aid projects to try not to go out for the time being.

The incident has shocked Chinese residents in PNG. However, their business dealings are proceeding as normal at the moment, said Li.