Three of four inmates who escaped from Koh Kong provincial prison on Thursday while outside on a work detail have been re-arrested over the weekend, police said yesterday.

Koh Kong prison chief Try Buntha identified the three recaptured escapees as brothers Poeun Da, 20, Poeun Thou, 23, and Poeun Theara, 25. The fourth brother, Peoun Thoeun, 27, is still at large. All four were being held in pretrial detention on charges of aggravated theft.

“Under collaboration with the provincial police we have taken three of them back to detention in the prison,” Buntha said, adding that police had stopped the three men in a taxi.

“Poeun Da was arrested back on Saturday afternoon in the Tatai area, where he and his two brothers were taking a taxi to leave Koh Kong,” he continued, adding that Thou and Theara had managed to flee the vehicle into the jungle, but were arrested the next day.

Thoeun was not in the taxi, and police are continuing to search for him in the jungle, Buntha said.

Sam Khit Vien, Koh Kong provincial police chief, said that the police are distributing photos of Theoun to villagers so they can notify police if they spot him.

“They were picked up in early April after burglarising villagers’ houses for laptops, mobile phones and wallets,” Vien said, adding that the charges carry a potential sentence of six months to three years, which could double, thanks to the escape attempt.