Year ends with a bang, or several, for Pailin man

In what was probably their final bout of collective rage for 2012, a group a grudge-bearing gangsters seriously injured a 32-year-old man in Pailin town on Sunday. Police said the group came to the man’s house while he was home alone and beat him up badly, escaping before police arrived. Cops are searching the thugs, who they said had some sort of long-running feud with their victim. Koh Santepheap

Another reason not to let anyone borrow your moto

In a case that closely resembled one in Phnom Penh last Thursday, police in Pursat town on Sunday arrested another man who had “borrowed” a friend’s moto and never gave it back. Police said the victim realised what initially had seemed like a favour for a friend was actually a full-fledged fraud when after two days he’d seen no sign of either the friend or the vehicle. After receiving the crestfallen lender’s complaint, police arrested the suspect while he was trying to sell the moto and sent him to court. Kampuchea Thmey

Necklace heist ends poorly for Dangkor thief

After a daring chase, a posse of police managed to arrest a necklace-snatcher in the capital’s dusty Dangkor district on Saturday. Having grabbed the loot from around a tuk-tuk passenger’s neck, the thief made a speedy getaway atop his trusty moto, but the tuk-tuk driver’s cries for help alerted police to the theft. The victim escaped injuries, but the thief didn’t escape being sent to court. Rasmey Kampuchea

Suspicious slinger sent to court by capital cops

Police said they could tell there was something suspicious about a 20-year-old man in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district just by the way he was riding his moto on Monday. The patrollers’ suspicions increased when the man noticed they were following him and sped up to escape them. The cops managed to catch the fleeing fellow and found a package of drugs on him. He admitted he was a drug dealer and was sent to court. Rasmey Kampuchea

Pair seriously injured in Daun Penh hit-and-run

Two men were seriously injured in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district on Sunday night when a speeding car crashed into them. Police said the car’s driver had not been heeding where he was going, and around midnight collided with the victims’ moto. The driver had sped off by the time police arrived on the scene, and they’re now searching for him. Kampuchea Thmey

Translated by Sen David