WOMAN ADMITS TO TALL ROBBERY TALE

Police say a woman spun an elaborate – and false – story of being robbed at gunpoint after she gambled away more than US$10,000 at a casino in Phnom Penh. The 30-year-old woman had brought her complaint to police in Tuol Kork district Tuesday, saying that two gunmen had chased her down the street and robbed her of her cash. However, the woman later admitted that she lost the money while gambling at NagaWorld Casino and was afraid her husband would divorce her if he knew what had really happened. Police said the woman later returned to the station and apologised profusely, seeking a pardon for her sin. Police told the woman to stop gambling and let her return to her family.

KOH SANTEPHEAP

STUDENTS SNOOKERED AFTER POLICE RAID

Thirteen students in school uniforms were dragged to Chamkarmon district police station for “an education” after police officials busted into an illicit snooker and video game club in the capital Wednesday. Police said they seized eight video games, four computers, eight televisions and the 32-year-old owner of the club, and promised to destroy them all – except, presumably, the club owner, who will instead face prosecution in court. The students, on the other hand, were sent home to their parents after the parents signed contracts with police.

KAMPUCHEA THMEY

WORKERS DOUBLE UP AS GOLD ROBBERS

Five men who worked as builders and metalworkers during the day moonlighted in a much less constructive profession at night: armed robbery. Police say the five men, who live in the capital, have confessed to robbing a gold vendor in Meanchey district last week. The deputy police chief said the men confessed to plotting the robbery before they pulled the heist. Each member of the group faces a charge of robbery.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA

WOMEN ACCUSED OF SELLING BRIDES

A 53-year-old woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after she was convicted of running a business that married off Cambodian girls to Korean men. Police first raided the woman’s Tuol Kork district home last September, where they found 20 Cambodian girls and three Korean men. Police only arrested the 53-year-old suspect. The woman denied any illegal activity, but acknowledged that she acted as a “broker” several times, receiving US$100 for finding a Cambodian woman for her male Korean customers.

RASMEY KAMPUCHEA