A royal Cambodian Armed Forces soldier was hospitalised with internal injuries after his commander allegedly beat him with a stick in Preah Vihear province’s Choam Ksan district, a rights group and military source said yesterday.

A relative of the soldier, a member of Regiment 375, called the rights group Adhoc on Saturday, asking them to intervene. Adhoc said that the victim is recovering in Sra Em commune’s military hospital.

An officer at the National Defence Ministry’s Royal Command Headquarters, who asked not to be named, identified the victim as “Mr Chan”, in his 40s, from Kampong Thom province. The commander’s name is Tie Roeurn, he said.

The source said that Chan was assigned to tend to 100 cows belonging to his regiment. Some of the cows got into the regimental rice farm and ate some plants. This infuriated Roeurn, who allegedly beat the soldier with a wooden stick.

“Chan was badly injured in one of the ribs and sent to a military hospital,” said the source. “He remains there due to bad injuries. It was cruel.”

Roeurn could not be reached for comment yesterday. Meas Yoeurn, the provincial deputy military commander, said he was unaware of the case.