The father of two teenage girls discovered their bodies floating in a river in Pursat province’s Krakor district yesterday morning. Police believe the pair had been raped and murdered.

Yaok Seth, aged 14, and Yaok Sinath, aged 13, were found naked in Stung Veng river at around 10am yesterday, around one kilometre from their home in Ansar Chambork village in Svay Sar commune.

Chief of Krakor District Police, major Chim Vanna, said yesterday that initial checks had shown the girls had been “raped and murdered”. They are thought to have died by strangultion.

Major Chea Vim called the crime “cruel and inhuman” and went on to say that more than one suspect could have been involved in the killings.

An investigation has been launched, he said, and it is thought the perpetrators could be resident in the same village as the girls.

“We are working hard to investigate and research this matter. We hope that, based on our experience and hard work, we will be able to arrest them and bring them [the perpertrators] for prosecution soon,” he said.  

Deputy chief of Svay Sar Commune, Krouch Sam Socheat, said yesterday that is was not the first time that two sisters had been murdered in the area.

In 2007, two siblings – aged between six and eight – were raped and murdered in a rice field while looking after buffalo in the commune.

The killer, who was identified as a man living in the same village, was later arrested and sent to prison.

“This is the second time such a serious case has happened in my commune, ” he said.

“To prevent it from happening in the future, we will go and educate the people in their villages or communities about child rape, child exploitation and child abuse as well as human trafficking and drug abuses and drug trafficking.”