A 27-year-old man bled to death in Siem Reap province on Sunday after cutting his genitals, hand and neck with a knife. Attempts to rescue him failed.
Siem Reap provincial serious crimes bureau chief Duong Sokha on Monday said authorities have not identified a motive for the man’s actions and do not know whether he was under the influence of drugs.
The incident occurred in Slakram commune’s Slakram village at the home the victim, known as Nhanh, which he shared with an older woman.
Acting commune police chief Thim Rithea said Nhanh was an orphan and had been temporarily living with the woman. No one knew his real name.
At 11am on Sunday, Rithea said people witnessed Nhanh alone at his house. He was cutting his hand with a knife, creating a pool of blood on the ground. The witnesses called the police to intervene.
Rithea led police to the scene and found Nhanh standing in his room naked with blood on the floor.
The police chief said he asked the landlord to unlock the door so he could rescue Nhanh and called an ambulance.
“I knew that the victim was in a life-threatening situation, which is why I ordered an ambulance on standby. Once we could get him in custody, we could immediately send him to hospital considering how drenched in blood he was,” Rithea said.
He said he used a metal rod to smash the door open. He found Nhanh holding a knife in his right hand with cut marks on his neck and genitals.
He asked Nhanh to put down the knife so he could take him to hospital. Nhanh dropped the knife but kept it close at hand.
Rithea said Nhanh appeared exhausted and he approached the victim to help him get to the ambulance. But when Rithea got close, he said Nhanh punched him in the eye. Dizzied, Rithea backed out of the room.
Nhanh passed away due to blood loss in his room before he could be persuaded into the ambulance.
Rithea said according to residents living in the village, Nhanh hadn’t displayed strange behaviour before the incident.
“We cannot conclude if Nhanh was on drugs as the post-mortem has not been concluded yet,” Rithea said.
