A 14-year-old Kampot boy and two Battambang men were sent to court Saturday on charges of rape in two separate cases, police said Sunday.
The 14-year-old was arrested on Sept 18 in Kampot province’s Chhuk district, Lbeuk commune, on allegations of raping his 4-year-old neighbor, said Uy Vorng, provincial police bureau chief of anti-human trafficking.
The boy is accused of having lured the girl to his house on June 29 with promises of a snack of palm sugar and raping her while his parents were away gambling, Uy Vorng said. Afterward, the girl indicated to her mother what had happened, and her mother told police.
Initially the victim’s mother, a disabled widow, agreed to accept compensation from the boy’s parents, but the boy was arrested when his parents didn’t pay, Uy Vorng said. Uy Vorng criticized the practice of negotiating compensation for rapes, which delayed the boy’s arrest.
“Local authorities and police often try to end a rape [case] with compensation, because they get money from the victim’s family if they convince criminals to pay compensation,” he said.
In another case, Thon Thoeun, 20, and Soeurn San, 21, appeared in Battambang Provincial Court, accused of raping a 22-year-old widow in Mong Russei district’s Chrey commune, said Seng Son, provincial anti-trafficking police chief.
The victim met Thon Thoeun, the nephew of her deceased husband, Soeurn San and another friend in a rural area on Thursday and the group drank rice wine together, Seng Son said. The three men later promised to take the victim back to her cottage, but instead took her into a flooded forest, Seng Son said.
Thon Thoeun and Soeurn San are accused of having raped the victim, while the third man muffled her cries with his hand, he said. Thon Thoeun and Soeurn San confessed to the crime and are awaiting trial in Battambang provincial prison.
Seng Son said the third man remains at large.
