Blooming brawl stems from thorny flower fuss

A gang of flower children forgot about peace and love last Saturday when seven people in Banteay Meanchey’s Malai district started a major brawl over a minor argument, police said. One group went onto the other’s land to pick flowers, piquing the landowner’s ire.  Mediation by the commune chief failed to nip the disagreement in the bud, and argument blossomed into all-out war, with combatants fighting and hurling rocks. Police arrested all involved. Rasmey Kampuchea

Moto owner stabbed in back for his motorbike

A 16-year-old man lost his moto on Friday in the capital’s Por Sen Chey district to a pair of backstabbers – literally.  The victim said he had driven to the market, where he was waiting for his mother, when the dastardly duo snuck up and shivved him from behind, then hopped on the moto and fled. The man filed a complaint to police, but the knife-wielding ne’er-do-wells had escaped.  Police said the robbery was indicative of a spike in moto thefts. Kampuchea Thmey

Trio receives stolen goods and a trip to jail

Police in Kampong Cham’s Chamkar Leu district arrested three men for buying a stolen moto from a thief on Friday without notifying the police it was stolen. According to the police, the moto’s erstwhile owner had filed a complaint saying the moto was stolen.  Later, police watching the market where the thief was known to fence his ill-gotten gains spotted him selling the purloined motorbike. Police have detained the trio for questioning in hopes of catching the thief. Koh Santepheap

Sour grapes over wine ends in brutal beating

Police in Battambang‘s Sampov Loun district arrested two men on Saturday for badly beating three of their soon-to-be-former friends. On the day in question, police said, the quarrelling quintet was quaffing wine when an argument escalated into a fight. The two more martially inclined trounced their three friends, beating one until he lost consciousness. The man was later rushed to the hospital. Police learned the suspects’ identities, and sent them to the court. Koh Santepheap

Pressure piles up on panicky purloining pair  

A pair of panicky purloiners pulled a necklace off the neck of a 23-year-old woman in Phnom Penh’s Meanchey district on Saturday. The victim said she was riding her moto home when the suspects – also on a moto – snatched the gold chain. The victim shouted for help, putting the suspects in such a panic that they lost control of their speeding moto and spilled into the street. A bystander detained the duo. Rasmey Kampuchea

Translated by Sen David