A Kompong Thom provincial court on Friday charged a Stong district man with attempted killing after a drunken mob attacked police who were trying to arrest the man’s friend.
Rong Mong, 33, assaulted police and wrested an AK-47 assault rifle from them, court prosecutor Huot Hy said Sunday. On Friday, the court released another seven men arrested after the mob attack because there were not enough witnesses to testify against them, he said.
They may be called back by the court to face arrest, he said. Say Mao, the man the police were trying to arrest when the mob assaulted them, is still at large.
The court plans to issue a warrant for Say Mao’s arrest, Huot Hy said.
Say Mao is a Siem Reap soldier who divorced his wife a year ago, deputy police chief Hang Sethem said.
He returned to Stong district to try to get his ex-wife back, only to be rebuffed, he said.
Police believe Say Mao tossed a grenade into his ex-wife’s house. The grenade instead hit a tree and exploded. The ex-wife was unharmed, but three cows were injured.
Say Mao had previously threatened his ex-wife with a grenade, Hang Sethem said. “She didn’t take him back because he is a bad person. He always got into arguments when he was drunk.” The grenade attack was probably an act of revenge, he said.
As police tried to arrest Say Mao Thursday evening, a drunken crowd surrounded and assaulted them, beating and trying to strangle them, police said. The policemen’s faces were bloodied and an AK-47 was stolen. The gun was later returned by helpful villagers.
Police fired twice into the ground to scare the crowd, he said.
Say Mao escaped “with both his hands still in the handcuffs,” Hang Sethem said. He fled into the darkness and crossed a stream, he said.
The drunken villagers were celebrating the close of the Pchum Ben festival with dancing and music at a party near Say Mao’s ex-wife’s house, police said.
