Official Electrocuted by Animal Trap in Mondolkiri

An anti-drug official found dead in Mondolkiri province on Thursday had been electrocuted by a device designed to kill forest animals, a police official said on Friday.

San Phoeun, a 45-year-old major who was deputy chief of the provincial anti-drug bureau, went missing from his home in Pech Chreada district’s Pou Chrei commune on Tuesday.

His corpse was found in a woodland about 80 meters from an electric battery, pro­vincial police chief Toch Yun said.

“His legs hit metal wires attached to the battery,” Mr. Yun added. “We suspect the person set up the battery to kill animals and that the person lived in the same village as the victim.”

Mr. Yun said that the body had likely been moved after the electrocution.

“We concluded that after it happened the victim’s body was moved from the scene to another place,” he said, adding that police were searching to find the villager responsible for the illegal device.

Officials from the provincial anti-drug bureau could not be reached for comment.

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