April 3: A man was detained and arrested at Calmette hospital in Phnom Penh for allegedly stealing a mobile phone from a patient’s room. The suspected thief was Nop Tuo, 23, the victim Men Phalla, 52, and the mobile phone a Motorola V31, age unknown.

April 3: Mom Phearom, 25, was arrested and the motorbike he was riding seized by police in Kam Peus village, Kandal Steung district, Kandal province, after he and two associates allegedly robbed a traveler of his motorbike 10 minutes earlier, at 5:40pm.

April 3: A suspected member of an infamous group of bandits who arm themselves with AK-47s, Sok Phal, 32, was arrested in Phnom Penh by police from Prey Veng province and the Ministry of Interior. Phal had been tracked to the capital from Prey Veng after a man told police Phal had stolen his motorbike and was intending to sell it in the city, said Phnom Penh deputy chief of police Ham Kunthy.

April 6: A young man was seriously beaten by a large crowd in Phnom Penh after he was seen snatching a necklace from a woman leaving a wedding. The theft and subsequent attack happened at 2:30pm near the Caltex station on Russian Federation Boulevard in Russey Keo. Police said their early intervention probably saved the man’s life. He was identified as Bun Vannarith, 23.

April 6: A man attempted to rape a two-year-old girl in Treuoy Treong Village, Sang district, Kandal province, after an extended drinking session. Tuoch Oy, also known as A Khmao, carried the toddler behind her house at 6:30pm, allegedly to rape her, but was seen by a five-year-old girl who ran to tell the victim’s parents, police said, adding the 26-year-old man was quickly apprehended.

April 7: One of three young men accused of tying wire at head height across a street in Chak Chruok village, Khan Dangkor, Phnom Penh, was arrested after police came across the wire intended to topple motorists by catching them by the neck. Motorbikes, once separated from their rider, could then be taken. Police said Chhean Sopheuon, 19, was captured on the spot at about 10:20pm although his two associates escaped.

April 7: Two men suspected of involvement in the murder and robbery of a woman on October 4, 2007 were captured by police in Battambang province. Police said the woman, 25-year-old Mao Sinath, had been killed for her motorbike, phone and jewelry. They arrested her boyfriend of the time, San Kim Theuon, 28, and his flatmate, Bu Tith, 26, in Andong Chenh village, Ochar commune.

April 7: Police in Kampong Cham province took another shot at suspected murderer Om Lim, 59, sending him to court for a second time after earlier charges against the man for the same murder were rejected by the provincial court. Lim was arrested for a second time following a complaint by a man who said Lim had killed his mother, Dim Mao, 68, in Koktrea Lich, Prey Chhor district, in May 2007. Lim told the Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper the charges were dropped the first time because he paid the court a bribe of $2,400.

April 7: A group of thieves threatened to kill an entire family it had robbed at home in Prek Tnot village, Kam Pot district, Kampot province, if it reported the crime, police said. Mat Yab, 43, said his family was robbed of 4.02 million riel, $2,000, 89.6 grams of gold and 77.6 grams of platinum and one mobile phone at 8:20pm.

April 8: A gold shop in Sam Rong market, Odormean Chey province, was robbed of 600 grams of gold and 1.31kg of platinum, in what police say is the first robbery to take place at the market. Gold trader Seuong Sakhan, 39, and his wife, Sok Balis, 26, were robbed at gold shop #69 at 4:30pm by three men armed with two pistols. No one was hurt during the robbery.

April 8: Phnom Penh resident Khom Haynak, 25, had his head hacked from his body by his machete-wielding cousin Chey On, 28, in a revenge killing, police said. Locals at the scene of the crime in Prek Leap village, Khan Reussey Keo, Phnom Penh, said a small problem had now turned into a big one. Police said apart from being beheaded, Haynak suffered seven other wounds to his body in the frenzied attack. A neighbor said Haynak was killed because of an earlier conflict Haynak had with his cousin’s wife.

April 9: Thirteen suspected drug dealers and drug users, including four women, were arrested in Phnom Penh by police of Khan Daun Penh at #34, Street 174, at 5pm while they were gathering for a presumed smoking session. Neighborhood police chief Yim Socheat said the crackdown netted 80 tablets – not identified – three pieces of a tablet, two “big” packages and three “small” packages of a “white powder,” seven cigarette lighters, one bottle of drinking water and two containers. He did not say what was not seized.

April 10: Six bullets for an AK-47 were lined up outside the home of a Radio Free Asia (RFA) reporter in Vatkor village, Vatkor commune, Battambang province. Police said the bullets, placed inside the compound’s gate, were found at 7am by the daughter of journalist Lim Pisith. Police said Pisith has received many threats over the years because of his job, which frequently addresses issues of corruption and illegal logging, and he usually left the country until matters cooled down. The police chief of Vatkor commune, San Samin, said the bullets could have been placed by “anyone” but admitted it was likely connected to Pisith’s work.