Tourist trouble

A hotel manager and four security guards were arrested on Sunday after they bound and detained a British tourist they claim had damaged property in the hotel in Koh Kong.

The tourist, Simon James Patrick, 55, had walked into the Epic Koh Kong Hotel that evening looking to buy a drink, said Khem Sane deputy chief of provincial police.

When staff refused because he was not a guest at the hotel, Patrick threw a bottle at the hotel’s fridge, damaging it, said Sane.

He added that the staff at the hotel – manager Phrak Det, 37, and security guards Noun Sokha, 47, Sang Heng, 27, and Sun Lyheng, 22 – decided to detain Patrick because he had startled guests and damaged hotel property.

“The suspects were temporarily detained at the police station for more questions, and will be sent to the court on Tuesday for charging. With the agreement of the judge, we will charge them with illegal detention based on article 253 of the penal code,” he said.

If found guilty, the men could face anywhere from three to five years in prison.

The tourist, Patrick, was not arrested.