MARCH 25: A 36-year-old pregnant woman, Kreng Vanay, was axed and severely injured during a family dispute at 7 p.m. in Balaing Lech village, Kampong Thom province.

A witness said Vanay was chopped several times in the face by her husband, Thy Sopheap, 38, who was drunk. Sopheap was angry after he sold a chicken to his wife to pay off debts at the local wine shop, but she would not pay him until the next day.

MARCH 25: Dul Voeu, 46, was murdered in Prek Pros village, Sihanoukville.

Police said Voeu went to the home of Duot Less, 39, a magic love maker, for help because her husband had left with a second wife. On the first day Voeu stayed, Less told his wife that he planned to kill the woman to steal her money and gold earrings.

Less' wife, Lash Mom, 37, asked him not to murder Voeu because they had been friends since childhood, but the next day Less killed the woman with a blow to the head with a stick as she knelt in front of him to receive the magic, Mom told police. Less buried the body in the field behind his house and escaped. Mom was later arrested.

MARCH 26: A group of six gunmen escaped in a Prado car after killing a military police officer in a little argument at 10 p.m. while drinking beer at Sweet Cafe restaurant in Tonle Bassac commune, Phnom Penh. A witness said one of the gunmen shot Leng Seng, 25, in the neck after Seng had shot once into the air with a K-59 handgun. The witness said Seng created a problem when he screamed at people that they were making noise while walking on gravel in the restaurant.

MARCH 26: Kim Sang, 41, was killed instantly with a heavy knife during a land dispute at 10 a.m. in Tuol Chres village, Svay Rieng province. Police said Sang was chopped in the neck by his adopted son, Min Phary, 20, who was arrested after the assault. Police said Phary was angry because Sang asked him to move from land owned by Sang after he had been allowed to stay on it for a long time.

MARCH 29: The body of Korm Khol, 43, was found in a canal after he went missing in Prek Kranh village, Sihanoukville. Police said Khol was stabbed 10 times and his body dropped in the canal. Police suspect a woman killed him and stole his motorbike, as one had been seen riding on his bike.

MARCH 30: Police are looking for a 20-year-old unidentified man who robbed TKT Tours at 7 a.m. in Boeng Raing commune, Phnom Penh. Har Neangchan, 22, who is an accountant at the company, complained to police that the robber entered her office and punched her twice in the face before stealing $8,261 in cash and two mobile phones.

The man escaped on a motorbike.

MARCH 30: Soth Nak, 14, was strangled to death and his body hung in a mango tree at 9 a.m. in Kandoal Dom village, Kampong Speu province. Police suspect Men Mom killed the boy because she later fled from her house. A neighbor said Mom, the aunt of Nak, was angry because he argued with her son.

MARCH 30: Provincial court issued a warrant to detain a boy in prison after he was arrested while fishing at a lake near Tonle Sap river in Phat Sandai village, Kampong Thom province. Police said Mao Vith, 15, was charged with illegal fishing because he used electrocution equipment to catch fish. Police are looking for two other people who escaped into a nearby forest.

MARCH 31: A policeman, Yu Daravuth, 39, was sent to Calmette Hospital for surgery after being shot with a K-59 handgun the previous night in Tonle Bassac commune, Phnom Penh. Police said Daravuth was shot once in the temple and later dropped at a riverbank. Police said robbery was the reason of the shooting because his motorbike and a K-59 handgun were stolen.

MARCH 31: Chea Kear was arrested after confessing to police that he killed a neighbor who accused him of stealing a chicken. Kear said he killed Khan Khem, 18, with a heavy knife while drinking wine in Rolaing Beng village, Kampong Speu province, because Khem threatened him, saying Kear knew too much about a secret problem.

A witness said the argument occurred while the men were drunk.

MARCH 31: A motodop driver, Chum Mara, 31, was sent to Calmette Hospital for medical treatment after being severely injured in an argument at 9:45 p.m. in Srah Chak commune, Phnom Penh. A witness told police that Mara was attacked with a heavy knife after his bike collided with another motorbike that belonged to three gangsters who escaped after the assault.

APRIL 1: Kim Oun, 24, was sent to hospital for treatment after he sustained massive head injuries during an assault at 9:55 p.m. at 799 Guesthouse in Psar Kandal 1 precinct, Phnom Penh. A witness said Oun was beaten and attacked with a steel pipe by the couple who owned the guesthouse and their son. Oun had gone to them to ask why they had hit his younger brother on the head with a shoe. The younger brother, Praleung, who worked as the guesthouse's guard, was also knocked down during the argument. The victims later said they sent a complaint to police, but the assailants had not yet been arrested.

APRIL 1: Daut Sopheak, 27, was knifed to death while returning home from a dance at 8:20 p.m. in Tasao village, Prey Veng province. A witness said Sopheak's path was blocked and he was struck several times on the head and neck by a group of people he had argued with at the dance earlier in the evening.

APRIL 2: Two robbers escaped after committing a robbery at 6:45 p.m. in Tonle Bassac commune, Phnom Penh. Police said the robbers shot a student, Ung Sear, 25, in the stomach with a handgun while he was sitting on a park bench with his girlfriend.

They escaped on a motorbike after stealing his mobile phone.

APRIL 3: Vong Nom, 55, an active member for the Sam Rainsy Party, was found dead at his farm in Thlok Bei village, Kampong Speu province. Police said Nom was hit on the head and had his throat cut while asleep on his farm. Police said revenge was the motive for the killing because Nom had recently sworn to some villagers that he was not a sorcerer.

APRIL 3: The body of Heng Sary, 36, was found hanging from a tree at 8 a.m. in Chlang Kat village, Pursat province. Police said that the fact his bag was found under the tree indicated that Sary hanged himself. An identity card in the bag stated that Sary came from Peam Samrong village, Kampong Cham province.

APRIL 4: Keo Samet, 42, a commune chief, was sent to Calmette Hospital after being knifed at a Buddhist ceremony being celebrated at a pagoda in Kilomet Lek Pramouy commune, Phnom Penh. Police said Samet was stabbed four times by the son of a male neighbor who asked for her love in the early evening. Samet said the assailant probably misunderstood the situation, thinking she had created a relationship with his father.

- Translated from Khmer newspapers Koh Santepheap and Rasmei Kampuchea by Aun Pheap