The Preah Vihear Provincial Court charged seven people yesterday with robbing a gold vendor of more than $13,000 in Preah Vihear town’s Kampong Pranak commune on Tuesday morning, said Preah Vihear provincial police chief Thean Heng.

“If they are found guilty, they face a punishment of at least four years in prison,” he said.

According to Kampong Pranak commune police officer Lim Sareth, the seven suspects, who included six men and one woman, went to gold vendor Yim Phary’s business and offered to sell her a so-called gold necklace, which was actually a fake.

“They grabbed the victim while she was checking the quality of their gold necklace and threatened her not to shout for help from other vendors. After grabbing the victim, they collected her money and other jewellery and managed to escape from the place,” only to be picked on the same day just over the provincial border, in Siem Reap, he said.