A military police spokesman confirmed yesterday that a captain in Stung Treng province’s Siem Pang district has been suspended for allegedly beating his girlfriend with a handgun last week.

Kheng Tito, spokesman for the national military police, said yesterday that Captain Yorng Piseth, commander of the Dong Kralor military police office near the Cambodia-Laos border, “was suspended” because “he got drunk and used his gun to hit the victim, who is his lover”.

As punishment, the captain will spend a short time working at provincial military police headquarters in Stung Treng, Kheng Tito added. A military official who asked not to be named said that an intoxicated Yorng Piseth beat his girlfriend, 28-year-old Huoth Kunthea, in a fit of rage on Friday after she refused to serve him beer at the karaoke shop where she worked.

“He got very angry with her, so he took his gun and beat her on her forehead and cheeks, seriously injuring her,” the officer said, adding that provincial deputy commander Sao Sareth had struck a compromise with the victim and she agreed not to press charges in exchange for compensation.

Yorng Piseth, Huoth Kunthea and Sao Sareth could not be reached for comment.