A man from L’iet village in Kratie province was shot dead after allegedly attacking commune police with a piece of wood on Saturday.

According to Chroy Banteay commune police chief Eng Hoeun, four police officers were called to Khsack Tob village after the man, Um Sina, 32, hit a resident, Phn Hy, in the head with the cudgel in an unprovoked attack.

The officers found Sina walking toward nearby L’iet and told him to put the stick down, said Hoeun, but instead he approached the policemen and hit one of them on the shoulder.

Hoeun said the officers fired several warning shots before shooting Sina. After being shot, “Sina threw the stick at police, walked about 50 metres and fell over,” Hoeun added.

Witness Heng Chenda gave a similar account, adding: “After the shooting, the driver and armed policeman escaped.”

Hoeun declined to name the officers or say what happened to them after the shooting. Sina’s mother, Chab Son, said she has filed a complaint with rights group Adhoc.

Kratie Adhoc coordinator Hean Cheavkun said colleagues reported that Sina, 32, was a drug addict, and that the four policemen were on the run.