Inmate on lam

Police in Kampong Speu province are searching for an inmate who broke out of the province’s Kravan commune prison on Tuesday.

The escaped prisoner, Tem Vibol, 29, who was awaiting trial on drug charges, had taken his chances and climbed over a barbed-wire fence when prisoners were let out for exercise, said a provincial police official, who declined to be identified because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

Vibol had hopped onto the back of a waiting motorbike and sped off before prison guards could stop him, the official added.

Vibol, who was originally from Kandal province, was arrested in January in a village in Kampong Speu on drug charges and had been in prison since.

Keo Sothea, a provincial court prosecutor, confirmed that Vibol had escaped.

He said police have since launched a manhunt and are actively searching for him.