SIEM REAP - One of the alleged killers of American tourist Susan Hadden in a car
ambush near the Banteay Srei temple wandered into the district 12 days later
wanting to sell a camera taken in the raid.
A policeman spotted the
camera and followed the man back to his jungle home about 9km from the temple,
according to Siem Reap governor Ton Chay.
Police reinforcements were
called and surrounded the area, where they found 10 people alleged to have been
responsible for the ambush.
Also found were six rifles and a
rocket-launcher, along with the camera and a watch stolen in the
robbery.
The 10, including two women, are being held in Siem Reap
prison.
Police said the 10 were former KR guerrillas or their relatives,
who had earlier left the rebel group but not surrendered themselves to
government authorities.
Mrs Hadden, 50, was killed and her husband
William Hadden seriously wounded when they were attacked while on way to Banteay
Srei temple on Sunday Jan 15.
A senior provincial policeman, who asked
not to be named, said the couple were in a car traveling behind five other
vehicles, including a truck, police car and motorcycle, about 9am.
As the
car was about 8km from the temple, it came under fire from a group of armed
people.
The policeman said the gang's leader, Kang Chheun, fired a B40
rocket at the car but missed it. A second gunman, Van Kha, fired a second rocket
which exploded when it hit the ground nearby.
The car's driver sped up,
trying to flee, but a volley of bullets hit the car, shooting out its
tyres.
The vehicles ahead of the car continued along the road, their
drivers either fleeing or unaware of the trouble behind.
Police allege
Mrs Hadden was shot in the chest and head in the initial attack and, when the
car stopped, gunman Pre Phan ran up and fired more bullets into her.
Also
killed was the tourists' guide, a Mr Vuthea.
William Hadden was at some
stage shot or suffered shrapnel wounds in the right shoulder and hand. He played
dead while the attackers rifled through the couple's possessions, the policeman
said.
Only the driver and a policeman who were in the car
escaped.
The Post's source rejected any suggestion that the policeman,
who he said had been picked up as a hitchhiker, was involved in the
attack.
He said the policeman had fired back at the attackers, hitting
one in the leg, before running from the scene.
Mr Hadden was flown to
Phnom Penh and later evacuated for medical treatment to Singapore.
Mrs
Hadden's body was later sent to Phnom Penh, where she was cremated the following
day in accordance with her husband's wishes.
A Ministry of Information
spokesman, Seang Lapress, quoted Mr Hadden as later saying: "I would not blame
the authorities for the incident. Anyone can die anywhere."
The Haddens
were traveling in Cambodia on a tour organized by Diethelm Travel but their
Banteay Srei journey was privately arranged. Siem Reap police arranged visits
regularly to the temple before the incident.
On Jan 16 the Ministry of
Tourism affirmed that the main Angkor Wat temple complex was safe for
foreigners, but banned trips to Banteay Srei "until further
notice".
Governor Tuon Chay, however, now claims the area is perfectly
safe, with some 300 policemen guarding the road to Banteay Srei.
"You can
go there alone whenever you want - even at night," he told the Post on Feb
4.
Tuon Chay had made a similar statement just a week before the attack
on the Haddens' car.
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