Three foreign men were arrested on Wednesday over an attack on a gold dealer in an attempt to rob her in Siem Reap province’s Puok district.

District police chief Tep Pomsen identified the suspects as Le Xiaosi, 38, Hu Ming Chaa, 43, Lhang Yong Sheng, 48.

The victims were named Tao Sopheap, 44, the gold dealer, Chou Rachana, 26, and Dim Vichara, 26.

Police said Sopheap was arriving home with her relatives from her gold stall at a market when she stopped to open the gate.

As the three men appeared from a nearby bush, one of them grabbed her at gunpoint and hit her on the head. A scuffle ensued as Sopheap screamed for help.

The other suspects then broke the car’s window for valuables, injuring Rachana before fleeing when neighbours rushed to help.

Police found bullets and a steel rod at the scene.

While searching for the suspects, they found another bullet and an abandoned car about 150 metres from the crime scene.

The suspects who were immediately hunted down were traced to a nearby village at 4am, and arrested.

“We’ve questioned and sent them to the provincial police under a charge of robbery with aggravating circumstances,” he said.