Two arrests were made on Tuesday in separate cases of underage rape in Svay Rieng and Prey Veng provinces. In Svay Rieng’s Bassac commune, a 42-year-old man – identified as Prom Savin – was arrested after he had allegedly walked into the 15-year-old girl’s home in a drunken stupor and raped her, before attempting to drown her in a pond.

“This man has not admitted to his acts on the victim,” said Keo Sopha, director of the provincial penal office, adding that the accused had been found at the pond by the victim’s mother wearing only his underpants. “The suspect is very savage since he attempted to kill the victim after raping her to destroy evidence.”

Separately, in Prey Veng province, 28-year-old Nang Nay was arrested for allegedly bringing a 5-year-old girl into a forest and raping her after giving her 1,500 riel ($0.37).

According to Komchay Mear district deputy police chief Uy Noeun, the victim’s grandmother had heard cries of pain from her granddaughter in the forest, prompting her to walk in the direction of the cries, where she saw her granddaughter and the suspect in a state of undress.