IN SEPARATE cases, Siem Reap provincial court on Sunday charged a 45-year-old man and a 25-year-old man with having sex with underage relatives, court officials said.

Chuong Savuth, 45, was arrested on Saturday in Siem Reap’s Svay Dangkom commune following allegations from the uncle of his three stepdaughters – aged 17, 14 and 12 – that he had raped them on a number of occasions dating back to 2003.

Sok Keo Bandith, a provincial court prosecutor, said Chuong Savuth had been charged with having sex with minors under the Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation and been made to serve pretrial detention.

“He confessed to raping the oldest daughter, who is 17, but had not completed the sexual act. He denied raping the other two underage daughters,” he said.

“We are waiting for examination results from doctors to prove whether the girls were raped by the accused.”

Chea Heng, chief of the juvenile protection section of the provincial anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection bureau, said the 17-year-old

stepdaughter had testified against Chuong Savuth.

“The oldest daughter told us she had been raped by her stepfather countless times since 2003, along with the other daughters,” he said. “They were threatened with death if they told anyone.”

On Sunday, Leng Lek, 25, was charged with having sexual intercourse with a minor after officials accused him of tempting his 14-year-old cousin with new clothes and money in exchange for sex.

“He confessed to having consensual sex with her just once, which is contrary to the testimony of the victim, who claimed she had sex with him on a number of occasions,” Sok Keo Bandith said.

Meanwhile, Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday charged three labourers at the Camko City construction site with the rape of a 17-year-old girl on May 24. Six suspects believed to have also participated in the gang rape remained at large.