A man bearing the ID of a military police officer allegedly shot his girlfriend to death in a guesthouse in the capital’s Tuol Sangke commune on Saturday and remains at large, though military police officials have flatly denied he is among their ranks.

According to guesthouse owner Sary Thom, 25-year-old Son Sreyleak was fatally shot in her right eye by her boyfriend – identified as Oum Sophat, according to an identity card attached to a walkie talkie he left behind – in Sary Thom Guesthouse on Saturday morning.

“Two staff rushed into the room after hearing the [gunshot] and saw the woman covered in blood . . . while trying to stop the man from running away, they got his helmet and walkie talkie,” Thom said. “The [walkie talkie has an] ID card that has his name and a photo that matches the suspect’s face in the CCTV footage.”

Commune police chief Huy Heang confirmed the shooting death yesterday but said he could not yet offer details into the open investigation.Despite the identity card bearing the emblem of the Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia and a photo showing the suspect in uniform, military police spokesman Eng Hy said no such person is on their rolls.

“The suspect has our military police ID card but we could not find him in our military police list. So he is not our military police,” Hy said. “Even with an ID card, it is buyable and possible to cheat,” he added. “They’re available in the markets.”