A teenage security guard was hospitalized with severe head injuries after a Phnom Penh commune chief punched him over a parking dispute on Monday evening, sending him head-first into a brick wall, a police official said on Tuesday.
Meas Damdey, 19, stopped his motorbike at the scene of a dispute in Chbar Ampov district between Prek Pra commune chief Hour Hout and another security guard at about 5:40 p.m., said deputy district police chief Mao Soeut.
When he asked Mr. Hout why the two were arguing, however, “the commune chief punched him once on the left side of the head, and the right side of his head struck the wall of a security station,” he said.
Mr. Damdey was sent to the district referral hospital, but was transferred to the Khmer Soviet Friendship Hospital once doctors determined he had sustained brain damage, he added.
Police were collecting information for a report to be sent to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court before seeking to arrest the official, Mr. Soeut said.
Mr. Hout could not be reached for comment.
