A CAMBODIAN man suspected of raping three children and throwing them into an empty well in February was arrested Friday after returning from Thailand, where he had fled following the crime, police said Sunday.

Thab La, 34, was seized in Battambang province's Ek Phnom district, said Kuy Heang, the provincial chief of the anti-human trafficking police.

He said the suspect told police that he had raped the children before escaping to Thailand. He secretly returned to his hometown last week, but was quickly arrested, Kuy Heang said.

The children, aged 4 to 6 years, survived the attack, police said.

Kuy Heang said the incident occurred February 12, when the suspect lured the three children, one boy and two girls, onto a boat by offering them cake and money.

The man told police he then took them to an isolated area and raped them before throwing them into the well. "The suspect was sent to court on Saturday for further investigations", Kuy Heang said.