The suspect was arrested after allegedly firing more than 10 shots from his AK-47 rifle towards a house in Teuk Thla commune. Photo supplied
An anti-drugs policeman was arrested by Sen Sok district police after allegedly firing more than 10 shots from his AK-47 rifle towards a house in Phsar Teuk Thla village in the capital’s Teuk Thla commune on Monday night, damaging the property.
Sen Sok district police chief Hour Mengvang said on Tuesday afternoon that the policeman, 47, is deputy chief of the Interior Ministry’s Anti-Drug Department.
He said the policeman was arrested on Monday night after he became drunk, grabbed his AK-47 and shot it towards the house of a 35-year-old woman who operates a laundry business there.
“Now our police are implementing legal procedures by questioning him about the shooting before sending the case to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court,” he said, adding that they planned to send him to court on Wednesday morning.
Mengvang said that under questioning, the suspect said he and the victim had had a verbal disagreement earlier in the day over some money owed for laundering clothes.
The suspect said the victim had sworn at him in front of several people because he owed her what he said was a small amount of money. Her cursing made him lose face in front of the onlookers, Mengvang said.
Later, when he was drunk, the suspect drove a car to the victim’s home where he fired at least 11 shots as a warning, but he claimed he had no intention of killing her, Mengvang said.
“However, it is a criminal case. He is a policeman, so he should not have taken revenge like that and used his weapon to shoot at the victim’s house in the middle of the night. Luckily no one was injured,” he said.
Mengvang said the suspect escaped the scene before police arrived. But the police then checked security cameras and managed to clearly identify the suspect.
They quickly found and arrested him, and discovered that he was drunk. It was determined that he had not been taking drugs.
A Teuk Thla commune police report said at least 11 bullet casings were found at the scene, but no one was injured even though the rifle was aimed at the windows, doors and roof.
The report said police confiscated the AK-47, with 12 bullets, and the policeman’s car.
