Pursat police are searching for a fugitive army commander suspected of stabbing a subordinate officer to death in Krakor district.

Thang Thy, 52, commander of Platoon 141, stabbed 26-year-old soldier Von Vilar in the neck with a knife before fleeing the scene at about 1pm on Sunday, military police affairs official Chhorn Chean said yesterday.

Soldiers are routinely ordered to remain in their barracks and await orders during border hostilities, he said.

The incident stemmed from an argument between the two men while they were drinking alcohol in their quarters.

When Von Vilar tried to leave the scene, Thang Thy ordered him to apologise, Chhorn Chean said.

“The soldier did not, and went to relax on a hammock. His commander then stabbed him one time in the neck and fell down, dying on the ground.”

Chhorn Chhean said police are searching for Thang Thy to arrest him and submit the case to the provincial court based upon witnesses’ accounts of the attack.