Shortly after taking over the country, the Khmer Rouge clubbed individuals who showed disagreement towards their regime to a painful death. The Khmer Rouge murdered Cambodians for not working hard enough, showing any signs of grief, or being an educated individual. As a result, the Khmer Rouge killed 300,000 to 500,000 Cambodians. When the Vietnamese removed the Khmer Rouge's power in 1979, many Cambodians had already suffered at the hands of the army. During Southeast Asia's political turmoil, the total death toll estimate is 2 million out of 8 million people in Cambodia or a quarter of the total population.