Prosecutors are reviewing whether to charge a duck farmer with negligent homicide after a poultry thief he was chasing fell and died of his injuries.

According to a statement published on Wednesday by the Zhangpu county procuratorate in Fujian province, the farmer, identified only as Lan, was alerted to the thief's presence by the sound of ducks quacking at about 4 am on March 19.

Lan, 51, gave chase to the thief, a 57-year-old surnamed Chen, and got close enough to pull on his left sleeve.