Three brothers in Banteay Meanchey province, along with their father, were arrested for hiding the murder of their oldest brother amid a dispute over a lost telephone, an official said on Wednesday.
Returning to their home in Mongkol Borei district’s Kork Ballaing commune after a night drinking at a neighbor’s house, Mork Ven, 28, and his youngest brother, Mork Chit, 18, remained outside the house bickering, according to Sin Narak, deputy police chief of the province’s major crimes bureau.
An intoxicated Mr. Ven accused his brother of misplacing his mobile phone, and the two began throwing rocks at each other, Mr. Narak said.
Eventually, Mr. Chit repeatedly struck his older brother on the head with a stick of bamboo, killing him, he said.
When the other brothers discovered what happened, the siblings and their father, Mork Sveng, 65, tried to burn the corpse, drawing the attention of neighbors, who “began wondering why someone died without a funeral” and contacted police the following morning, Mr. Narak said.
The four men were being held on Wednesday at the provincial police station for questioning.
