A suspected handbag thief who escaped from a holding cell at the Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week was recaptured on Tuesday evening upon returning to the house he shares with his parents, police said Wednesday.
Sman Olovy, 27, was initially arrested on the morning of February 27, after his neighbor in Chbar Ampov district woke the previous night to see him making off with her purse, according to police.
He was brought to the courthouse two days later to answer questions about the incident but slipped out of a holding cell on the ground floor when police officers left the door unlocked.
After the incident, police staked out Mr. Olovy’s house in Prek Pra commune, which he shares with his parents, and recruited neighbors to watch for him, said deputy district police chief Mao Seut.
Shortly before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, their patience paid off, explained commune police chief Sok Dara.
“Our police arrested the suspect at his house after villagers reported that he had returned,” he said. The suspect is due to return to the municipal court today, according to police.
