The body of a toddler was found facedown in a pond on the outskirts of Phnom Penh on Friday morning in a suspected murder case, according to officials.
Police were alerted to the body by a pair of boys who noticed it while fishing in the pond in Chroy Changva district’s Bak Kheng commune at about 9 a.m., said commune police chief Mean Thorn.
“When I arrived at the pond, I saw that the boy’s body was floating,” Mr. Thorn said, adding that the victim appeared to be about 2 years old and had likely been in the water for about 48 hours.
He said police conducted an autopsy later in the day and determined that the child had been strangled.
“The murderer strangled the boy until he died before dumping him in the pond.” J
ames McCabe, director of operations for the Child Protection Unit (CPU), an arm of the Cambodian Children’s Fund, said the unit was assisting police in the ongoing investigation.
Mr. McCabe said the boy was found wearing teddy bear-print pajamas and estimated his age at 3 or 4.
“We have not received a report, at this stage, of a missing child,” he said.
