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BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Vietnamese serial killer on trial

A Vietnamese woman accused of killing 13 people with poison has gone on trial in the southern province of Binh Duong.

Court officials said Le Thanh Van admitted she killed them so she could steal their possessions and money.

She is accused of poisoning her victims, who included several family members, by putting cyanide into their drinks or food.

She could face the death sentence if convicted for the killings, which took place between 1998 and 2001.

Fake wills

Le Thanh Van, 48, admitted killing her victims, including her mother-in-law, brother-in-law and foster mother, to steal money and goods worth more than $US15,000, said Nguyen Thanh Tung, an official with Binh Duong People's Court.

The state-run Phap Luat newspaper said she faked her victims' wills and other documents.

She was arrested twice between 1998 and 2000, but was later released for lack of evidence.

Van will stand trial alongside her boyfriend. They are both charged with murder and robbery.