Chi Kraeng district police in Siem Reap province are searching for a man suspected of killing one youth and injuring another in a stabbing incident on the night of July 5 in Chi Kraeng commune’s Pring village.

District police chief Taing Lyheng said on July 6 that the victims, aged 21 and 26, and the suspect, 18, are residents of Pring village.

“We are searching for the suspect. But we do not yet know what exactly led to the incident,” he said.

Lyheng declined to provide details about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

But an officer in the district who requested anonymity said the suspect and the two victims were friends. Citing eyewitnesses, he said the suspect was seen talking with the two victims at around 10pm on July 5.

After a 10-minute conversation, there was a loud scream and some sort of disturbance followed by a cry for help. The villagers were too afraid to intervene and instead reported the incident to the commune police.

“Our villagers reported it to our police in a timely manner. But the suspect realised that the police were arriving and he managed to escape,” he said.

He added that an inspection of the crime scene revealed that Dong was stabbed once in his chest and that wound proved fatal as he died on the way to the hospital.

The surviving victim also suffered serious stab wounds and was rushed to the same hospital in Siem Reap where it is expected that he will be able to make a full statement to the police soon.