Traffic snarl stymies would-be phone thief

A mobile phone thief was almost successful on Tuesday before Phnom Penh’s rush hour got the better of him. Police said the suspect, 27, pretended to be a customer at a phone store in Tuol Kork district, snatched one of the mobile phones on display and made his grand escape on a motorbike. The store owner, 34, screamed for help and then gave chase. Traffic blocked the suspect’s escape route, however, and, with nowhere to go, he threw the mobile phone away, only for the shopkeeper to catch him anyway. He confessed upon arrest. Kampuchea Thmey

Flirting attempt leads to beer mug beatdown

A 30-year-old man was seriously injured in Phnom Penh’s Chamkarmon district when his attempt to flirt with a female guest in a restaurant was met with angry relatives wielding beer glasses. Police said the man was drinking at the local restaurant on Wednesday night when he approached the woman, who was dining with her relatives. Apparently displeased, they proceeded to beat the man with their glasses, seriously injuring his head. Police are still searching for the suspects. Koh Santepheap

Bovine boosting lands teenage junkie in jail

An 18-year-old was sent to court on Wednesday after he allegedly stole a cow in Pursat’s Bakan district in order to pay for drugs. Police said the suspect was led astray by drug-abusing friends after his parents kicked him out for not working. He regularly stole and sold villagers’ chickens to pay for drugs but, on the day in question, out of ambition or desperation, he stole a cow instead. Acting on the farmer’s complaint, police have arrested the suspect and returned the cow. Nokorwat

Friendly argument gets ugly fast in Phnom Penh

Sen Sok district police apprehended three men on Tuesday night after a boys’ night out turned into a brawl that left one friend injured. The police said the four men were having dinner and drinking beer when a friendly argument turned ugly, and the victim, 19, was turned into a human punching bag. Patrolling police were alerted by the noise and intervened. The three suspects, 20, 25 and 30, were arrested for causing intentional injury. Kampuchea Thmey

Passerby picks wrong side in traffic dispute

A man who witnessed a border guard crash his car into a motorbike caught a beating for refusing to mind his own business on Tuesday. Police said the 62-year old passerby filed a complaint against the border guard, claiming that he punched him in the face and the back after letting the guard know he was the cause of the accident. The border guard was driving in the wrong lane when he hit the motorbike in Poipet in Banteay Meanchey province. Nokorwat

Translated by Phak Seangly