The chief of security forces for Sihanoukville’s Keo Phos district was shot dead with his own pistol at a karaoke bar on Monday night, provincial military officials said yesterday.

Pov Sophearoth, 46, was drinking with friends at Machas Chet Restaurant, a local karaoke parlour, when a fight broke out between the victim’s group of friends and a second group of patrons, according to Keo Sophal, director of investigation at the provincial military police department.

“We’re working on this case thoroughly and have already identified a suspect,” he said yesterday, adding that Sophearoth was shot through the mouth during the scuffle and was taken to hospital but believed to have died on the scene.

Witnesses on the scene allege the victim was singing happily among friends, who briefly left him alone, around the time things turned ugly.

Moments after engaging in an argument with a patron who allegedly parked too close to the karaoke bar fence, Sophearoth engaged in another argument with a separate group of patrons, leading to a physical confrontation that resulted in his death, police said.

Five employees at the karaoke bar who witnessed the crime were questioned by police following Sophearoth’s death but no one was detained, Sophal said, noting that police had already identified a suspect and an accomplice who both remain at large.

Local police have just completed the incident report, deputy police chief Chum Sokunthy said yesterday, adding that military police will continue the hunt for both suspects.