A man was sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday for striking his five-year-old stepson with a steel pipe in Por Sen Chey district’s Choam Chao II commune.

Deputy district police chief Chea Sovann said Yim Samang, a 26-year-old construction worker, hit the child for locking him up in their house.

“The child locked the door for security reasons but he wasn’t aware that his stepfather was still inside,” he said. When the mother unlocked the door after returning from her garment factory, Samang came out and struck the boy with a steel pipe.

“The mother reported to police. The boy sustained injuries, a deep bruise, on his back and received emergency care,” he said. It was reported that Samang had hit the child on multiple occasions previously.