A Papua New Guinea (PNG) man described as a vampire has been arrested after allegedly murdering his young daughter eating her flesh and drinking her blood, a report said Friday.

Police called the grisly incident that occurred at a settlement near Lae "an act of cannibalism."

The PNG Post Courier cited local councilor John Kenny, who was one of the first on the scene, as saying the 3-year-old child and her mother were visiting the father when he grabbed the girl and ran off into nearby bushes.

Kenny said the man allegedly held the toddler close to him, bit into her neck, ate the flesh and sucked blood.

Two boys who were climbing a coconut tree nearby saw him and ran quickly to raise the alarm.

"He was just laughing at the boys and continued eating the flesh," Kenny told the newspaper.

PNG is a nation where black magic, sorcery and cannibalism sometimes occur. Last year police arrested dozens of people linked to an alleged cannibal cult accused of killing at least seven people, eating their brains raw and making soup from their penises.

AFP