Pagoda pickpockets pinched in Phnom Penh

Police pounced on two women while the pair was picking pockets in a pagoda in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district on Sunday. Police said that while seeming to present a picture of piety by participating in a pagoda ceremony, the women plucked several bills from the pockets of fellow pagoda-goers. Police were not impressed by their prank, and arrested them. Kampuchea Thmey

Strong-arm robber feels stabbing pangs of justice

A 25-year-old man was arrested in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district on Monday for a knifepoint motorbike theft. The unlucky victim’s moto had broken down earlier in the day, and he was walking it home when the suspect set on him with a knife. Police patrolling the area realised something was afoot and arrested the attacker. The victim was sent to the hospital. Rasmey Kampuchea

Loitering lout caught packing packs of meth

Police were right to suspect something was awry when they saw a 19-year-old man standing alone in a park in Kandal’s Takhmao district. After taking a second look, police searched the man and found two packages of methamphetamine that he confessed he had been waiting to sell to a customer. They arrested him and sent him to court. Koh Santepheap

Vengeful vagabonds set upon unsuspecting man  

The other participant in a phone conversation with a 23-year-old man on Sunday must have been shocked when the call ended abruptly to the sounds of an attack. Police said that while the young man was in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district talking on his mobile, a group of men attacked him and beat him until he was almost dead. Residents called for police, who arrived at the scene too late to catch the suspects. Police are searching for the attackers, who are said to have a grudge against the phone chatter. Deum Ampil

Man dead in hit-and-run in Banteay Meanchey

A 35-year-old man was run over by a speeding truck in Banteay Meanchey’s Mongkol Borei district on Monday. A witness of the accident said that the victim was riding home on his motorcycle when the truck knocked him over and sped away before police arrived on the scene. The victim died on the way to the hospital and police are looking for the truck driver. Koh Santepheap

Translated by Sen David