The Battambang provincial police are working to identify the body of a man found in a canal in Prek Preah Sdech commune’s Chamkar Russey village of Battambang town on June 2. They ruled the death a homicide after an autopsy and are searching for the suspect.

Deputy provincial police chief Lim Puthila told The Post on June 5 that the man found dead in the canal was definitely murdered.

“According to the autopsy committee, the man’s throat was cut. He was over 30 years of age. The provincial criminal police are searching for the perpetrator as well as trying to determine the identity of the victim,” he said.

According to an officer who asked not to be named, a villager living near the canal found the body of a man floating in the water around 7pm on June 2 and reported to the authorities.

The provincial police then ordered homicide investigators to examine the scene with forensic experts and medics.

After examining the body, they concluded that it was a case of murder because of the wound on the man’s neck which was consistent with it being slashed open with an object like a knife and they also saw signs that the man had been badly beaten – such as the neck bones being soft – which indicated it had been broken.

He added that after the crime scene investigation and the autopsy, the police took the body from the water and buried it for the time being in case the body is claimed by family members who wish to perform traditional funeral rites.