BEIJING â€"  Authorities have arrested a man in southwestern China accused of killing 11 people and dismembering, burning and burying their bodies to destroy the evidence.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement Sunday that 56-year-old Zhang Yongming was arrested by police in Yunnan province on murder charges.

It said Zhang is suspected of attacking male victims who were walking alone on a quiet road near his home in Jinning county.

The case is believed to be related to media reports this past week that at least eight young people had gone missing in the county.

The reports sparked a public outcry because they cited relatives of the missing as saying that police ignored their pleas for help and prevented them from contacting the media.