Man substitutes rape for marriage proposal

A 23-year-old man told police that he raped a 16-year-old girl in Pursat province’s Bakan district because he loved her and was afraid she would marry someone else. District police said the man attacked the girl on Thursday as she was on her way to a local pagoda to make offerings for the Pchum Ben festival. The man claimed that he had been in a relationship with the girl, but that she had recently begun to ignore him, according to police. He said he would still marry her if she dropped the charges against him.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Taxi driver accused of bid to cut competition

Military police in Meanchey district on Wednesday arrested a 25-year-old motorbike-taxi driver accused of attacking another driver with a cleaver as part of a dispute over a customer. Police said the suspect had become enraged after the other driver was selected to ferry a customer that both drivers had been vying for, and went home to collect his weapon before returning two hours later to assault his rival.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

Drive-by robbers foiled by stalled motorbike

Military police arrested two male suspects at the scene of an attempted robbery after their vehicle broke down in Phnom Penh’s Toul Kork district on Friday. The two men, who were on a motorbike, reportedly snatched a necklace from a woman, who was also on a motorbike, seconds before their vehicle broke down, thereby enabling police to swoop in and arrest them. The victim said the necklace had been returned to her after the arrest, but that a diamond pendant worth around US$1,000 was missing.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Police nab suspect in rape of friend’s wife

Police in Kampong Cham province’s Batheay district last week apprehended a man accused of raping a pregnant 19-year-old woman who had been sleeping next to her drunken husband when she was attacked. Police said the husband had passed out after a heavy drinking session with the suspect, who later gagged the woman and raped her. The victim, who is six months pregnant, has requested US$2,000 in compensation.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

Three detained in moto theft conspiracy

Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday temporarily detained three men accused of conspiring to steal a motorbike from a motorbike-taxi driver. One of the suspects asked the driver to take him to a park and wait for his return. After about 20 minutes, the man returned with four others, the driver said. He said the five men then “overwhelmed” him before escaping on his motorbike. Police said they were searching for the remaining two suspects.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY