Lights in the dark send drivers over the edge

Perhaps they were hungover, or perhaps they just had very sensitive eyes, but whatever the reason, police said four men in Banteay Meanchey’s Poipet town decided that a motorcycle driver who had flashed his light in their eyes deserved a beating on Monday. The moto driver, who later said he had turned on the light to see in the dark and hadn’t noticed the men in his path, was surprised when the four began pummeling him. Police soon intervened and sent the peevish punks to court.  Kampuchea Thmey

Lunchtime thief bites off more than he can chew

One motorcycle-owner’s lunch break was a thief’s lucky break – at least until the thief tried to sell the stolen moto in the market. Police said the 23-year-old crook snuck off with the bike while it was parked in front of the owner’s Phnom Penh home on Sunday. After an investigation, the thief was found trying to pass on the moto for profit and admitted to the theft before he was sent to court. Koh Santepheap

Stealing baubles from baby no piece of cake

A 20-year-old man in Kampot town achieved a dubious victory on Sunday when he successfully tricked a little girl out of her earring. Police said that the suspect approached the girl while she was walking down the street alone and asked to have a closer look at the trinket. After persuading her to remove it from her ear in exchange for 500 riel, the man grabbed the bauble and ran. But police ran faster and sent the man to court. Rasmey Kampuchea

Man with axe to grind finds apropos target

Police on Saturday detained two curmudgeonly men who’d gotten into a violent kerfuffle in Battambang’s Phnom Proek district. Cops said the trouble began when some unkind words between the two led one man to take an axe to the other’s house, destroying his door. This encouraged the other man to walk out that door, snatch the axe, and use it to attack the door-demolisher. Neighbours sent the inimical injured man to the hospital before police picked him up along with his fellow quarreler. Rasmey Kampuchea

Good samaritan gets it bad from ne’er-do-well

A 24-year-old man found no good deed goes unpunished when he was stabbed while trying to break up a family argument in Siem Reap town on Saturday. Police said the do-gooder noticed a husband whom he knew to be frequently abusive beating his wife and went over to intervene. The husband hinted the meddler should mind his own business by stabbing him in the arm. The injured altruist was sent to the hospital, while police detained the couple to help them find a resolution. Kampuchea Thmey

Translated by Sen David