Following several attacks where foreigners have been targeted by people throwing bricks from moving cars, a German filmmaker said yesterday he was injured after being hit in the back by a rock as he rode in a tuk-tuk along Phnom Penh’s riverside on Friday night.
Phnom Penh resident Marc Eberle, 38, said yesterday he believed his attacker used a slingshot to fire a large stone at him as he rode along Sisowath Quay with a friend. The brick incidents mirror a spate of similar attacks in 2004, when a foreigner lost his eye after being hit by a projectile fired by a slingshot.
“I was going home in a tuk-tuk…and before I got out, someone shot at me with a stone that hit me in the back,” he said, adding that the stone was about seven cm in diameter. “It was a very hard shot…. I don’t think anyone can throw a stone like that, which makes me fairly sure that it was fired by a slingshot.”
Mr Eberle said he did not know if the stone was fired by someone in a moving car, or someone standing near the river.
“I don’t want to make a big deal out of this but it is so dangerous and I remember the guy who lost his eye [in 2004],” he said, adding that he had not reported the incident to police because he did not believe that it would be properly investigated.
Rien Vichet, director of the municipal tourism police bureau, said yesterday that he had not heard about the incident involving Mr Eberle but added that three police motorbikes were patrolling the riverside area to help protect foreigners.
Daun Penh district police said yesterday that they were still investigating an attack on a Canadian man who was hit by a brick on the riverside last month. “Our investigation is in progress, but I can not reveal any details,” said district police chief Hun Sothy.
