Phnom Penh, Dec 7 (IANS): At least three people were killed and 31 others hospitalised in Cambodia's Kratie province after consuming toxic dog-meat, authorities said on Monday.

"An old man, his daughter-in-law and their neighbour died on Sunday morning, hours after they ate a dog-meat delicacy that had turned toxic," a police official of Snuol district, where the incident took place, told Xinhua news agency.

He said 31 other villagers fell ill after they attended the funeral of the three victims and consumed the remaining contaminated dog meat delicacy.

"They did not know that the trio died after eating the contaminated dog meat, so they also ate the meat and subsequently fell ill hours later," he said.

The victims had the symptoms of fatigue, dizziness and nausea, he said, adding that as of Monday evening, one of them was still in critical condition.

Samples of the toxic dog meat were sent to the provincial food safety bureau for further examination, he added.