Two accused in child’s killing

via CAAI

Tuesday, 19 October 2010 15:01 Mom Kunthear and Rann Reuy

POLICE in Pursat province yesterday arrested two men suspected of raping and killing their 6-year-old cousin, and investigations have been launched into other family members who may also have been involved, officials said.

So Sahong, deputy police chief in Pursat’s Phnom Kravanh district, said the girl was raped, robbed and killed on Friday. Her body was discovered by her family the following day in a forest roughly 200 metres from her house.

“We found the girl’s body in a pool of water in the forest, and we first suspected she died from drowning,” he said. “But after we checked her body, we found that her neck was broken, she was bruised, there was blood on her and her jewellery was lost. So we can say that she was raped and killed.”

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This is the first case of rape, murder and robbery in Phnom Kravanh district in 2010.

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He said the two suspects – both cousins of the victim – had attempted to cross the Thai border in a bid to elude police. However, they were detained in Battambang province’s Kamreang district on Sunday after border officials were tipped off.

“This is the first case of rape, murder and robbery in Phnom Kravanh district in 2010,” So Sahong said.

Provincial police chief Lok Sary said yesterday that officials were preparing evidence to present to court officials, and that further arrests were expected.

“We sent them to provincial court [yesterday evening] after we took them to the scene and asked them to show us what happened,” he said. “We suspect that their family members were also involved, because they left home after the girl died and their sons escaped. We are investigating to arrest them, because we suspect that they are connected to the case as well.”

Also yesterday, police in Siem Reap province said a man killed his 6-year-old daughter and attempted to kill his wife before committing suicide, in what police have called an act of jealousy.

A Chhinh, 25, chopped his wife, Hou Chreb, 24, on the head and hands with a sickle on Saturday, said Chan Saren, police chief of Siem Reap’s Kralanh district. Believing she was dead, he then hacked his daughter to death before hanging himself at the house.

“The perpetrator’s wife did not die because the neighbours sent her to hospital in time,” Chan Saren said. “When she recovered, she said that her husband became jealous with her because she talked to other men. He became angry and tried to kill her.”

Sous Narin, provincial investigator for the rights group Adhoc, said yesterday that he could only recall two other cases involving men killing children following domestic disputes in the province.

He added that the man’s wife was receiving treatment at a referral hospital in Siem Reap.