A 25-year-old man accused of attacking a businessman with a meat cleaver outside the Phnom Penh airport was provisionally charged on Tuesday with attempted murder, Phnom Penh Municipal Court spokesman Ly Sophana said in a text message.
Keo Phearum, whose mother told authorities that he had a history of mental illness, attacked Keo Sitha, 50, an assistant to the chairman of ING Holdings, at about 9 a.m. on Friday, Yim Saran, Pur Senchey district’s police chief, said on Friday.
Suos Vithyearandy, a court spokesman, said on Tuesday that the suspect was being detained at the district police headquarters and would be sent before an investigating judge for formal charging.
In a statement released on Friday, ING Holdings spoke of the company’s shock at the attack on Mr. Sitha, an assistant to chairman Ing Bun Hoaw.
“We are obviously shocked and saddened by this savage and unprovoked attack on one of our senior staff members.
Our thoughts are with his friends and family as we wish him a full and speedy recovery,” the statement said.
