Police in Prey Veng province say a man was beaten to death by a mob on Tuesday after he allegedly attempted to rape a 32-year old woman.

The body of Uong Tith, 22, was found with lacerations and head wounds in a paddy field in Mesang district’s Chres commune yesterday, according to provincial deputy police chief Poy Chivy, who added that forensic police concluded the killing blow had been landed by a blunt object.

“[We know] the man was beaten to death because his head was badly hacked and beaten. Now, we are investigating this case to find the suspects,” Chivy said.

Chivy said Tith was interrupted during his alleged rape attempt when the victim screamed, prompting her brother-in-law to rush to the house with a wooden stick. Chivy said district police told him the victim’s husband was away working in Thailand.

Tith allegedly repelled the brother-in-law, injuring him seriously enough for him to be sent to the district referral hospital. Tith then fled, unaware he was being followed by an angry mob, Chivy said.

Deputy commune chief Thek Samien said he had heard accounts that corroborated Chivy’s. “They told me that while those people were chasing the [alleged rapist], cattle herders also helped to surround him and joined the attack,” Samien said.

Such mob killings are not uncommon in Cambodia. Last month, a man was beaten to death in Prey Veng’s Peamro district by a group of men following an altercation sparked by his refusal to give them a cigarette.