KAMPOT provincial police have detained a woman accused of beating her 16-year-old niece over a period of six years, officials said.

In Chiva, the provincial deputy police chief, said the woman was interrogated on Tuesday, and that she had confessed to beating the girl and burning her with hot water.

“The woman told me during questioning that she had beaten her niece for many years because the girl lived under her management, but always worked too slowly,” he said.

He said the woman is to appear today at the provincial court, where she is likely to be charged under domestic violence laws.

The 16-year-old girl was removed from her aunt’s custody on June 15 after neighbours told police and monitors from the rights group Adhoc that she had been subjected to abuse for around six years. Officials investigating the case said they found more than 20 wounds on the girl’s body, some of them fresh.

Soeung Veasna, crisis support manager at the Switzerland-based NGO Hagar International, said Tuesday that the girl had been examined on Monday at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh, and that the staff said she may need back surgery.

“The doctor told me that the girl will have to stay in hospital for a while for ongoing health checkups,” she said.

Lang Saroeun, a neighbour who was also questioned by police, said he was “happy” he could assist in the case against the woman.