Man in Kampong Speu killed after suspect thought he was a sorcerer

The Kampong Speu provincial court on Sunday put a man in pre-trial detention after he was arrested for murdering another man in Phnom Sruoch district’s Trengtra Yoeng commune on Friday.

Provincial court spokesman Ou Phat said Chin Chun, 54, killed Hem Yim, 66, because he believed Yim was a sorcerer.

“The suspect has been charged with premeditated murder,” he said.

Provincial police’s serious crimes bureau chief Som Sak said Chun accused the victim of practising sorcery to make him suffer from a splitting headache for many months.

“He killed the victim when the victim was washing his face. The court charged him on Sunday morning with pre-meditated murder under Article 200 of the Criminal Code,” he said.

The accused said a fortune teller told him he had been made sick by a sorcerer, who turned out to be his family member. Chun then determined the sorcerer was his wife’s relative.

When the victim got up and washed his face at around 5am on Friday, the suspect snuck behind and attacked him with a cleaver, killing him instantly.

Contact author: Kim Sarom

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