The man arrested for the horrific rape and murder of a 10 year-old girl and the killing of her two-year-old brother was placed in pre-trial detention in Preah Sihanouk provincial prison on Tuesday after the local court charged him with murder.

Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court spokesman Lim Bun Heng said the suspect, identified as Mang Vichet, was charged with murder with aggravated circumstances under Article 202 and murder accompanied by torture, cruelty or rape under Article 205 of the Criminal Code.

“According to Article 202, the punishment is from 15 to 30 years in prison. While under Article 205, the suspect faces a life sentence if convicted,” Bun Heng told The Post on Tuesday.

Preah Sihanouk provincial police chief Chuon Narin on Monday said the 26-year-old suspect was intoxicated when he committed the crimes on May 29.

Narin said Mang Vichet used illegal drugs and that his wife did not appear to be involved in the murder after being interrogated twice by the police.

In a separate case, a suspect was sent to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Tuesday for “legal procedures” after the rape a five-year-old girl in the capital’s Dangkor district on Saturday evening.

Len Chantha, Roluos commune deputy police chief, said the victim’s mother had taken the victim to a maternity hospital for a medical check-up, but that he did not know the results.

“I am aware that the victim’s mother obtained the medical exam result and presented it to the court as evidence,” Chantha told The Post.