Second time’s not the charm for teen burglar

You can’t say the kid doesn’t have chutzpah. A 19-year-old capital resident is behind bars after robbing the house of a Ministry of Interior cop for the second time. Police said the teen broke into the officer’s Daun Penh district home late last month and stole his pistol while he was away on holiday. On Wednesday, he went back for seconds, only to be caught by the cop, who was waiting for him this time. The teen has confessed, but said he’d already pawned the sidearm for cash. Rasmey kampuchea

Hidden camera nails factory jeans jacker

A would-be black marketeer – or possibly just an extreme denim enthusiast – is behind bars after his latest attempt to heist a truckload of jeans. Police said the 27-year-old is a driver for the SL Garment factory and had been on the company’s radar after one too many pairs of jeans went missing. After installing a camera, the man was caught in the act while putting 30 pairs into the back of his truck. He’s been charged with stealing factory property. Koh santepheap

Glass half full: at least  it wasn’t a machete

Belts, machetes and wooden sticks – all three are common weapons employed in high school feuds these days, according to cops in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district. Police said this was borne out Tuesday when two men pulled up to the station with a badly injured comrade they said had been beaten with a belt. A pair of arrests quickly followed, with the assailants confessing, but saying they were simply repaying in kind for an attack on them last month. Kampuchea thmey

Grocer stabbed while fighting off robbers

A young grocer in Kandal’s Kien Svay district is lucky to be alive after a horrific attack during a robbery on Tuesday. Police say the 27-year-old and her sister were minding their shop at night when two masked suspects raided the store, brandishing a knife. Rather than give up the goods, the two instead screamed for help and scuffled with the two brigands, leading to the elder sister being stabbed five times in the back. She’s now recovering in hospital while police search for the assailants. Nokorwat

Lessons of Blotter go unheeded yet again

Classic scams never go out of style; still, you’d think people would have caught onto “the borrowed moto” by now. Not so with an 18-year-old in Kandal on Wednesday. Police said the teen visited a pair of “friends” who asked to borrow his bike so they could run to the pawn shop. Instead, they simply kept on driving – straight to a buyer for the stolen moto. One of the duo has since been arrested after the victim ran into him on the street; the other remains at large. Koh santepheap

Translated by Phak Seangly