An official involved in the Ministry of Interior’s investigation into the death of a French woman who had been vacationing in Kampot said yesterday that a preliminary examination shows that she was probably raped and murdered.

“It is a rape-murder case,” an official who had knowledge of the medical examination said, asking not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

The body of Ophélie Begnis, 25, was discovered in the Kampot river on Sunday, five kilometres from the resort she had checked into on February 4.

She was last seen bicycling out of the resort, where she was staying with two friends, on Saturday afternoon.

But Ouk Narin, a deputy with the forensics department at the Ministry of Interior, who joined French officials and a French doctor at the examination of the body, said he is still waiting to release an official analysis.

“We have not found out what kind of case this is after the initial examination, and we’ll wait for the second step to evaluate the exact results, but the marks on the body tell us that this was a murder,” said.

In Chiva, provincial deputy police commissioner, said authorities were yet to determine where Begnis was murdered or identify a suspect, while a French Embassy  spokesman declined to comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kim Sarom at [email protected]