A 25-year-old construction worker was charged on Monday for attacking a woman, hitting her children and stealing her ring in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district.

Police said the man was playing with the two kids when one began to cry.

Their mother swore at the man for upsetting her children.

He then grabbed a stick, and beat the woman unconscious.

He also beat her kids before stealing her gold ring from her limp hand and fleeing.

The criminal sought refuge at the pagoda, but villagers tracked him down and gave him a sound thrashing before turning him over to police.

He confessed to the crime, claiming he had taken the ring because he was poor, though not bothering to account for the rest of his nefarious behaviour.

Nokorwat