Police Blotter: 30 May 2008

Courtesy of Phnom Penh Post

Written by The Phnom Penh Post
Friday, 30 May 2008

May 17: A gunman and three accomplices fired a hail of bullets into a group of prostitutes who were waiting for clients on Monireth Boulevard near Disco One (formerly known as U2) in Phnom Penh. Srey Lin, 19, was shot through the head and died at the scene. Srey Nu, 27, who was six months pregnant, was shot several times in the abdomen causing her stomach to split open. She died at Preah Ketomealea hospital. The victims had attempted to hide behind flowerpots in front of house 61BCo but were followed by the gunman who shot them at pointblank range. The incident occurred at 2.15am.

May 19: Two unidentified boys, aged 14 and 16, and Mao Sokheng, 18, have been arrested by Chamkarmon district police, after the father of a four-year-old girl accused them of raping his daughter. Police said that Sokheng went to visit relatives who lived next to the victim’s house. The victim’s parents were not at home so he coaxed the two other boys into entering the house with him and told them to embrace the girl. The two boys refused and left the house. Sokheng then carried the girl into another room and raped her. The two boys then returned and, seeing the naked child, fondled her but did not rape her.

May 20: Daun Penh district police arrested 16 youths on drug charges at Mlop Mien guesthouse on Street 242. Police closed the guesthouse on May 21, saying it had become a drug smoking den.

May 20: An armed robber was arrested by Daun Penh military police after he snatched a foreigner’s necklace then escaped with an accomplice. The incident happened in broad daylight on Street 178 south of Wat Koh. Police sources identified the man as Seyha Pich, 20, of Tanguon village, Dangkor disctrict.

May 20: A Kandal province man killed his two children by feeding them poison after his wife left him. Police said Sron Samnang, 30, confessed to killing his sons, one aged two years and the other seven months, in Por Tunle village, Koh Thom district. Samnang told police he continued to feed his sons poison despite them vomiting profusely, until he realized they weren’t dying and decided to strangle them.

May 21: A disabled man was repeatedly chopped with a cleaver by his wife at 8pm in Otaporng village, Bakan district, Pursat province. Police said 46-year-old Phoeung Phal’s head, hands, neck and back were chopped more than 50 times until he looked like he had fish gills. The attacker, Som Sinan, 34, said she was angry with her husband because he accused her of being treacherous and having a new lover. Phal said he bears no malice toward his wife because she came to the hospital in tears to see him.

May 22: A mechanic inserted a high-pressure air hose designed to fill car tires into his four-year-old son’s anus and blew him up. Try Sieng Him said he was “playing” with his son when the incident took place. The child’s stomach became distended and his mother rushed him to hospital. He is now in a stable condition. Police said no action will be taken against the father as the incident was caused by “stupidity.”

May 26: One member of a ten-strong group of men who gang raped a woman in Kandal province has been arrested. The men raped the 29-year-old woman shortly after midnight as she was returning home from a dance party in Prek They village, Saang district. Police said the arrested man, Ra Phearom, 25, told them his nine accomplices “really raped” the victim but he had only raped her once.

May 26: Phnom Penh municipal police publicly paraded three recently arrested robbers who achieved notoriety as members of “the AK-47 robbery gang.” Police identified the ringleader as Chhim Sophal, 33, and his two accomplices as Nop Bunthoeun, 45, and Seng Kleung, 35. Police are still hunting five more members of the gang that has terrorized many provinces and towns, carrying out over 30 robberies in Phnom Penh alone.