A border police officer in Koh Kong province’s Mondol Seima district was arrested Saturday after allegedly killing a man with a rock during a drunken row, local officials said on Sunday.
Rim Yoeun, 42, a low-ranking police officer who worked along the Thai border, threw a large rock at 47-year-old Chhit Chhol, a civilian, after an alcohol-fueled argument between the two men escalated, according to provincial police chief Nhem Vanny.
The rock struck Chhit Chhol in the right eye and killed him, Mr. Vanny said.
“They knew each other and were drinking together, and then when they became drunk, they started arguing with each other,” he said.
Mr. Vanny said he did not believe Mr. Yoeun was attempting to kill Chhit Chhol, who died later on Saturday at the provincial hospital.
“The perpetrator did not throw the rock with the intention of killing him…. It accidently hit the victim in the right eye,” he said, adding that the exact cause of death was still unclear.
“He could have died one of two ways,” he said. “[I]t could have been that the rock hit him hard enough…to damage his brain immediately. Or, because the victim was drunk, he could have fallen over easily after being hit, hitting the ground hard.”
Mr. Vanny said Mr. Yoeun would be sent to the provincial court today.
District police chief Chea Sarin said the suspect and victim had been drinking inside the home of Chhit Chhol—who made a living transporting goods across the Thai Border—and that Mr. Yoeun was arrested at the scene.
Mr. Sarin said the fatal rock was “as big as a calf muscle.”
