A policeman and a villager were found brutally murdered in the capital’s Dangkor district on Sunday, police said yesterday.

According to Dangkor district police chief Chhem Bunroath, slash marks covered the bodies, heads and faces of Em Sophy, 46 – a police official from Korng Noy commune – and Earng Chansino, 28, a Korng Noy village resident. The murders took place on Sunday afternoon.

Authorities are looking for two suspects who may be staying in Takhmao town, Bunroath said.

“We got some traces and we are in Takhmao, because after the incident, two workers who were hired from Takhmao by a landlord disappeared,” said Bunroath. “I am looking for them.”

The suspected workers were hired to clear a plot of land in Korng Noy commune, but their employer did not identify them by name.

Police found beer cans and wine bottles at the murder site, leading to a theory that Bunroath was walking by when the workers called him over for a drink, then killed him.

“A conflict might have happened between the suspects and the villager and the suspects killed him,” said Bunroath. “To conceal the murder, the suspects decided to kill the police official before they disappeared. This makes us suspect them”.

Dem Bundit, the Takhmao town police chief, said that his officers are working together with the Dangkor police to find the suspects.