A 24-YEAR-OLD man who is alleged to have raped a six-year-old child was put in pre-trial detention on Saturday after the police arrested him a day earlier in Ratanakkiri’s Andong Meas district, provincial court spokesperson Keo Pisoth said on Sunday.

Pisoth identified the accused as a villager who is from the Jarai minority group. He is said to be from Nhang commune’s Tang Se village. He was arrested by Andong Meas district police.

“The man is currently in the court’s custody, awaiting trial,” Pisoth said.

Separately, Kandal provincial authorities investigated a case involving the murder of an 18-year-old girl whose body was found naked near a lake on Friday in Sambuor Meas commune.

Sien Sambath, the commune police chief, said on Sunday that an expert team had examined the remains and found a bruise behind the deceased’s head, indicating she was attacked from behind and killed, possibly with a stick as the murder weapon.

He said officers had found a handprint on the victim’s back and two wooden sticks at the scene.

“After a preliminary investigation, experts concluded that it was murder,” he said, adding that as of Sunday evening, police have not found any clues that could be used to identify the suspect.