The body of Srean Sokcheam was found floating in the Mekong river on February 11 last year. A first examination of her body concluded that the victim’s drowning was accidental and so police initially ruled out foul play.
However, the girl’s parents remained suspicious about the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s death and reached out to the Ministry of Interior’s Child Protection Unit, asking for the case to be reopened.
Police now believe she was murdered by Touch Naly, a 19-year-old farmer who lived next door to the girl’s family in Kampong Siem district’s Kien Chrey commune.
