Three suspects were sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court yesterday after allegedly stabbing an 18-year-old Pannasastra University student, whom they had taken hostage, on Thursday. Choun Narin, chief of the penal crime office for the Phnom Penh Municipal Police, told a press conference yesterday that Choun Bun Him, 30, Chhour Chheng Por, 52, and Eung, 28, were set to be charged with kidnapping and attempted murder.

“The suspects demanded that the victim’s family pay US$500,000 and, if not, they would kill the victim,” Choun Narin said. Police reported that the suspects attacked the victim, Oun Heng Bung, at NagaWorld, then held him hostage before stabbing him in the stomach several times and tossing him from a vehicle. He is recovering in the Calmette Hospital.