A pagoda resident was charged by the Kampong Cham Provincial Court yesterday following the beating and death of an 18-year-old Buddhist monk at the province’s Kork Pongro pagoda.

Nhek Vanna, 47, was arrested at about 8am on Saturday at the pagoda, located in Cheung Prey district’s Sramore commune, after allegedly using a big wooden stick to beat, and eventually kill, a young monk named Chhoeuth Rachhan, according to provincial penal police officer Major Sok Veasna.

“He is a nervous man and has always lived in the pagoda,” Veasna said. “He took a big stick and beat the victim’s neck from behind while the victim was sitting alone and reading a dharma book in the pagoda.”

The victim, he added, succumbed to his injuries in the pagoda.

Vanna was charged by the Kampong Cham Provincial Court prosecutor with intentional murder under Article 199 of the Penal Code, Veasna said.

If found guilty, the suspect could receive a sentence of 10 to 15 years in prison.