An ethnic Phnong man was shot dead on Wednesday night as he was sleeping in a hammock at his house in the village of Klorng Ler in Mondulkiri province’s Koh Nhek district.

Plal Pyu, 27, was shot in the head in a case presumed by authorities as being “spite-driven”. The suspect fled immediately after the shooting without taking anything from the victim’s home, said Choun Bunthoeun, police chief for the Sok Sam Commune.

Yesterday morning, police examined the body and found the bullet in the victim’s skull, according to Kan Penh, Koh Nhek district police chief. However, investigators did not confirm the type of bullet.

“At the moment, police are searching for the shooter to bring him to justice,” Penh said. The killing comes amid a nationwide spate of violent gun crimes in recent months, which has prompted high-level government authorities to call on their subordinates to put an end to the violence.