Pailin provincial police said yesterday that they have apprehended two suspects alleged to have held up a Wing outlet in a violent Pailin town robbery last month.

The suspects, Hort Viseth, 27, of Tbong Khmum province, and his 35-year-old accomplice, Seng Da of Kampong Cham, were picked up in the capital’s Daun Penh district yesterday morning, in a joint sting involving Pailin and Phnom Penh police officials, according to Chea Chandin, Pailin provincial police chief.

“For the present time, both suspects are being interrogated,” he said.

On the afternoon of January 21, the two detainees, armed with an AK-47 and an axe, are alleged to have held up an O’Tavao commune Wing outlet.

The victims, a father and son, sustained serious injuries from axe blows to the body, while the suspects escaped with $10,000.

The latest arrest follows a string of violent robberies in provincial areas in recent months. The spate of armed robberies has prompted the government to crack down on gun control, while security forces have been called upon to be more watchful for violent crime.