Farmer Bludgeoned to Death; Revenge Suspected

A cassava farmer repeatedly struck on the head and face and left for dead on the side of a dirt road in Stung Treng province on Tuesday was likely slain in revenge for a drunken beating he delivered to a friend a week earlier, police said.

Em Mao, 51, had been walking home alone at about 6 p.m. after drinking with a group of friends at a liquor shop in Thala Barivat district when he was fatally beaten about the head, said Liv Loeu, deputy district police chief.

The suspected attacker, who he declined to name, is the son of a friend whom Em Mao beat up during a drunken dispute last week, Mr. Loeu said.

A villager found Em Mao’s body along a road in Anlong Chrey commune at about 6:40 p.m. and informed other villagers, who called police, Mr. Loeu said.

Based on information officers gathered from locals, revenge was the most likely motive, he said.

Police did not yet have enough evidence to lay charges, but were searching for the suspected attacker and one other suspect, he added.

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