Torture tales

Police and a Phnom Penh Municipal Court deputy prosecutor are investigating claims Ly Pov, the wife of tycoon Veng Lyphytech, beat and tortured two girls for years before they escaped the family’s mansion in Tuol Kork district last week, Pol Pithey, chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Police, said yesterday.

Police had not yet moved to arrest the suspect, but officers were guarding the mansion to prevent her escape, Pithey said, adding that if the court issues a warrant, an arrest will be made.

Battambang provincial police chief Cheth Vanny said an examination of the two victims found wounds from beatings or electrical torture. He added that the victims had been transferred from anti-trafficking NGO SISHA’s Battambang centre to the capital to assist in the ongoing investigation.