Two children were raped in Kandal and Battambang provinces on Saturday, with one suspect in custody and the other investigation ongoing, the Child Protection Unit (CPU) said yesterday.

Police arrested a 26-year-old man yesterday for allegedly raping a 10-year-old girl in Battambang, said James McCabe, CPU’s operation manager. A 4-year-old girl was raped in Kandal the same day, McCabe said.

Six cases of serious crimes against children have been reported to authorities so far in 2015, McCabe said. However, “it’s not just Cambodian [problem], it’s a global issue”, he said. “Now we’re just seeing more reporting of these crimes.”

The increase in reporting likely reflects more confidence in the authorities’ ability to investigate, rather than a spike in actual cases, said McCabe.