KANDAL provincial court on Tuesday charged an 18-year-old man with raping a 15-year-old girl, but the parents of the alleged victim said they hope the complaint will be withdrawn because they believe the pair to be in love.

Rompol Makara, 18, was arrested Sunday after a complaint from the girl’s parents. But Rorn Srey Much, provincial coordinator for the rights group Licadho, said the parents had since decided that they “wanted to withdraw the complaint from court after meeting with the suspect’s father, who promised to them that his son would marry the victim”.

Prosecutor Uk Kimseth said Rompol Makara would be made to serve pretrial detention regardless of the parents’ wishes.

Meanwhile, Daun Penh district police on Monday arrested a 35-year-old monk accused of raping an 18-year-old student in Kandal’s Ponhea Leu district after spiking her drink with an unknown substance.

“The victim said she fell unconscious and awoke naked,” deputy district police chief Bun Kimheng said, and added that the suspect had been sent to Kandal provincial court.