National Police on Wednesday publicised the identities of 17 men who are on the run after a string of robberies.
Its spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun said on Thursday that the identities of the suspects were made public as they have arrest warrants against them but police have not yet been able to track them down.
He said the hope is that the public calls in tips to bring them to justice after they committed crimes in many provinces. He said the names and photos of the suspects were posted online for this reason.
“They will hide when their identifications are known. It is very important that people and other authorities are aware of their identities and work with police to have them arrested. The authorities are hunting for them.
“If we don’t take this step, the suspects could create a group together to commit other robberies or other crimes. We need to narrow their activities,” he said.
Kim Khoeun said some of the 17 suspects committed crimes together while others were not involved with each other.
In many other cases, he continued, police did not make the identification of suspects public, but in this case, it is necessary for public security.
He noted that police officials in the provinces have in the past received information about suspects after making their identities public.
In a separate case, Kouk Khleang commune police in Phnom Penh’s Sen Sok district arrested a 16-year-old for allegedly stealing $100 from a fruit vendor on Wednesday.
According to the National Police, the victim was identified as Uy Sophy, 36. Police confiscated the money and returned it to the victim.
