Logo of Phnom Penh Post newspaper Phnom Penh Post - Policeman in Preah Sihanouk child assault case nabbed

Policeman in Preah Sihanouk child assault case nabbed

Content image - Phnom Penh Post
A one-year old baby girl was assaulted causing serious injuries in the coastal province of Preah Sihanouk. POLICE

Policeman in Preah Sihanouk child assault case nabbed

The Siem Reap provincial police officer wanted for assaulting a one-year-old child in Preah Sihanouk province in a case that had gone viral on social media has been arrested.

The officer, Leakena Virak Rith, was apprehended at the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Police Academy in Treng Trayoeng commune of Kampong Speu province’s Phnom Sruoch district.

Siem Reap provincial deputy police chief Duong Thavry said Virak Rith stands accused of assault against the one-year-old girl that resulted in multiple injuries.

“He was a Siem Reap provincial police officer who was taking a refresher course at the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Police Academy [and that’s] where we picked him up and now he’s on his way back to Siem Reap,” she said.

Thavry said the suspect admitted that he had done something to the girl but claimed he was being “affectionate”.

“He refused to talk about the reason. He keeps saying he loves the little girl. But looking at the scars on her [whatever he did] was not out of love for the girl and we consider it violence,” she said.

According to Thavry, the suspect may have assaulted the victim on more than one occasion – at least once in Krous village of Siem Reap town’s Svay Dangkum commune and possibly another time in Sihanoukville while they were visiting the coastal town.

She added that the victim’s mother was a widow who was in a relationship with the suspect and was living with him out-of-wedlock but with their parents’ acknowledgement.

MOST VIEWED

  • Joy as Koh Ker Temple registered by UNESCO

    Cambodia's Koh Ker Temple archaeological site has been officially added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List, during the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 17. The ancient temple, also known as Lingapura or Chok Gargyar, is located in

  • Famed US collector family return artefacts to Cambodia

    In the latest repatriation of ancient artefacts from the US, a total of 33 pieces of Khmer cultural heritage will soon return home, according to the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts. In a September 12 press statement, it said the US Attorney’s Office for the

  • Tina rebuffs ‘false claims’ over falling paddy price

    Agriculture minister Dith Tina has shed light on the trade of paddy rice in Battambang – Cambodia’s leading rice-producing province – in a bid to curb what he dubs a “social media fact distortion campaign” to destabilise the market. While acknowledging that the prices of paddy

  • Cambodia set to celebrate Koh Ker UNESCO listing

    To celebrate the inscription of the Koh Ker archaeological site on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the Ministry of Cults and Religion has appealed to pagodas and places of worship to celebrate the achievement by ringing bells, shaking rattles and banging gongs on September 20. Venerable

  • Kampot curfew imposed to curb ‘gang’ violence

    Kampot provincial police have announced measures to contain a recent spike in antisocial behaviour by “unruly’ youth. Officials say the province has been plagued by recent violence among so-called “gang members”, who often fight with weapons such as knives and machetes. Several social observers have

  • PM outlines plans to discuss trade, policy during US visit

    Prime Minister Hun Manet is set to meet with senior US officials and business leaders during his upcoming visit to the US for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), scheduled for September 20. While addressing nearly 20,000 workers in Kampong Speu province, Manet said he aims to affirm