Three Chinese men were arrested for armed robbery and then shooting at the police officers who were searching for them afterwards. They were sent to the Preah Sihanouk provincial court on May 16.
Deputy provincial police chief Kol Phaly said on May 16 that “these three people – in addition to being involved in the robbery – are also involved in the use of an illegal weapon and they will face the law.”
He identified the alleged gunman as Zhang Dong, 33. His two accomplices are Yue Xiao Bing, 33, and Yang Tianyin, 26.
“These three suspects robbed another Chinese national,” said Phaly.
Phaly said that the police had received a report from local residents that a group of men had robbed another man with a pistol and had fired one shot in village 2 of commune 3 in Preah Sihanouk district.
He said the police – in cooperation with the special intervention force and the commune 3 police station – rushed to the scene, but the suspects had already fled.
“Police began searching for the suspects and upon reaching a small road in village 2, they found them. At that point one of the men shot at the officers twice, but missed,” said Phaly.
The suspects ran and hid inside of an unoccupied house. It took police until 7pm on May 14 to arrest the trio. When they finally apprehended them they also seized a K59 semi-automatic pistol still loaded with four rounds of ammunition, according to the police report.
