Police in Preah Vihear province are looking for a group of assault rifle-wielding robbers who burst into a Such village house on Saturday and shot the owner dead before bolting with expensive pieces of jewellery and several hundred dollars in cash.

Chak Khen, 35, had just sat down to dinner with his wife, three children and brother-in-law when five men came through the door.

Two of the robbers aimed AK-47 rifles at family members and demanded they hand over any valuables.

Police believe that at some point, a struggle took place and the men shot Chak Khen twice.

He died on the way to hospital.

His brother-in-law, Khim Mao, 35, was shot in the thigh and is recovering in the provincial hospital.

According to police, a getaway driver had been waiting for the robbers in a Toyota Camry.

They sped off in the direction of Siem Reap.

Some of the men involved were wearing military fatigues and could be former soldiers, Keo Sophoan, a district police officer, said.

They were not locals and appeared to be “skilled robbers” who had come to the village specifically for the robbery.

The robbers, who grabbed about $1,000 in cash, two rings and four gold necklaces valued at almost $4,000, did not appear to know the family, Keo Sophoan said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]