Police in Banteay Meanchey province have arrested a 25-year-old man accused of raping and murdering an 18-year-old woman whose body was found in a rice field, a police official said on Tuesday.
Chim Takk, who worked in construction, was arrested at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday at his house in Takong commune’s Trapaing village in Malai district, provincial police chief Ath Khem said.
“The suspect knew the girl because he lives in a nearby village,” Mr. Khem said.
Farmers found the woman’s half-clothed body in the remote rice field in neighboring Balaing village early on Saturday morning, Ben Sam Ath, Malai district police chief, said on Sunday.
Police had already identified the suspect, he said at the time.
The woman had dropped off her father at work before setting off for home on her Honda Dream motorbike.
Mr. Khem said on Tuesday that police officers had found the motorbike abandoned near the scene and returned it to her family.
The suspect was being held in police custody in Banteay Meanchey, he added.
