Monk rape claim

BANTEAY Meanchey provincial police have arrested a pagoda boy accused of raping an underage girl with a novice monk at a pagoda in Poipet town, though authorities will have to wait for the monk to be defrocked before taking him into custody.

Phan Sila, 20, a worker at Kosna Ream Srah Trach pagoda, was arrested on Monday following a complaint filed by the father of the 14-year-old victim. The complaint accuses the suspect and a novice monk of raping the victim up to five times at a room in the pagoda earlier the same day.

Poipet police chief Oum Sophal said officials were waiting for the chief abbot at the pagoda to officially defrock the monk before they will be able to arrest him. “We have asked the abbot to defrock the monk, but so far we have not received a reply,” he said.

He added that the pagoda boy had agreed to meet the victim near a stupa, but she told him that he was afraid of ghosts. The pagoda boy then changed the venue to the novice monk’s room, where the alleged rapes took place.

Phan Sila was sent to court yesterday for further questioning.