Police in Prey Veng province’s Svay Anthor district are currently on the lookout for a gang of armed robbers who stormed into the home of a local timber depot owner, held his daughter at gunpoint and absconded with a wooden trunk containing more than $50,000 on Tuesday evening.

Soeung Sokhum, acting police chief in Svay Anthor district, said yesterday that the robbery – the latest in a string of such cases that has drawn scrutiny on law enforcement officials – was committed by four or five suspects armed with three guns in Prey Khla commune.

“According to Ear Born, 55, the house owner, the trunk held 150 million riel and $13,000,” a total of some $50,500, Sokhum said, adding that “so far we have not got any clues as to the [identities of the] suspects.”

Citing the statement of Born’s daughter, Ear Ath, Sokhum said the suspects didn’t fire any shots, and fled immediately after grabbing the cash box.

According to Prey Khla commune chief Sao Tha, homeowner Ear Born was at a local café when the robbery took place.

“The investigation into the case will start with the workers and members of the family, because in this case, the suspects seemed to know in advance that all the money was placed in the wooden cash box,” Tha said.

Born yesterday declined to comment in detail, saying he had already answered police’s questions and that he was confident authorities would arrest the suspects “in the very near future”.