A gold vendor allegedly shot in the neck by a military officer after a verbal clash descended into lewd gestures was questioned at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday.

Police have been hunting Khon Sokheng, an officer with the elite Royal Cambodian Armed Forces paratroop unit Brigade 911, since the November 25 shooting at Phnom Penh’s Toul Sangke Market.

The victim, An Bory, 38, is seeking $30,000 in compensation and Sokheng has been charged with attempted  murder.

Under questioning yesterday, Bory ran through the events that led to the shooting.  

“[Sokheng] was angry that I called him ‘a dog’. He took his pistol and fired a bullet at me. He shot at my face, but unluckily [for him], the bullet hit my neck and exited my back,” Bory said after the questioning, adding that he had angered Sokheng by giving him an offensive gesture known as “the penis”.

“After shooting me, he got on his motorbike and escaped from the place. And I was rescued by neighbours and sent to Calmette Hospital for treatment,” he said.

Although healed, Bory said he still suffered serious pain.

Deputy municipal police chief Khen Sovann said the manhunt for Sokheng was ongoing and his unit, as well as all police, military police and military units across the country, had been informed.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]