A suspect was detained in Phnom Penh by Sen Sok district police on Wednesday night, immediately after he allegedly shot and seriously wounded his wife at a restaurant in Teuk Thla commune. Police
A suspect was detained in Phnom Penh by Sen Sok district police on Wednesday night, immediately after he allegedly shot and seriously wounded his wife at a restaurant in Teuk Thla commune.
Sen Sok district police chief Huor Mengvang told The Post on Thursday that the 39-year-old suspect was a command sergeant major serving in the Royal Cambodian Armed Force’s Division 5. The suspect’s 29-year-old wife was shot four times.
“The suspect told the police that [the shooting] was fuelled by jealousy. The doctor said the wife’s life is no longer in danger,” Mengvang said, adding that the couple lived in Teuk Thla commune’s Village 7.
Eyewitnesses said that before the shooting, the suspect drove to a restaurant in a Toyota Highlander SUV. A short time later, his wife arrived on a motorbike having followed her husband. The suspect invited his wife to join him for a meal, but she declined.
The eyewitnesses said that soon after this, the husband became extremely angry, pulled out a handgun and shot at his wife several times causing her to immediately collapse on the ground.
Mengvang said the suspect fired his K59 pistol seven times, but only four bullets struck the victim. After the shooting, the suspect fled at full speed in the Highlander down Phnom Penh Hanoi Friendship Boulevard, leaving his wife severely injured.
Witnesses immediately reported the incident to the Sen Sok district police who chased after the suspect and radioed for assistance from other authorities to help intercept him.
However, as there was heavy traffic in the area it was a simple task for the authorities to locate and arrest him.
A medical examination showed that the victim was hit by four bullets, once in her right shoulder, once in the right side of her stomach and twice in the thigh.
She was rushed to Calmette hospital by a relative for emergency treatment in the middle of the night and on Thursday doctors said the bullets had been removed.
The suspect was being questioned on Thursday at Sen Sok district police headquarters and the police were preparing documents in preparation to send him to court.
