Stung Treng provincial court on Tuesday charged a 41-year-old man with allegedly raping his 15-year-old daughter repeatedly over the past year, a court official said.
Deputy provincial prosecutor Phath Thai said Yim Meng, 41, of Siem Bok district, was being “held in pretrial detention in the provincial prison while the judge investigates.”
According to Meun Than Thann, Siem Bok district police chief, the girl’s mother filed a complaint against her husband with police last Thursday, alleging that Mr Meng had committed indecent acts against their daughter and was violent toward them both, but did not mention rape.
During the police investigation, neighbors reported the mother had confided to them that Mr Meng had raped their daughter, Mr Than Thann said. Police arrested Mr Meng on Monday at the family’s Siem Bok commune home, and questioned the girl and her mother about the alleged rapes.
The 15-year-old reportedly told her mother that her father had raped her for the first time about a year ago when they went to work at the rice field together, but as both she and her mother were afraid of Mr Meng, they did not go to police. Mr Meng continued to rape his daughter throughout the year and did not allow the girl to leave the house alone or talk to outsiders for fear she would give him away, her mother told Mr Than Thann. Eventually, Mr Meng began to share a bed with his daughter instead of his wife earlier this month, the victim’s mother said.
“The suspect threatened the victim and her mother that if they told police or anyone, he would kill the whole family,” Mr Than Thann said.
Deputy provincial anti-human trafficking police chief Phean Phoeuy said this is the second case of child-rape recorded by provincial police this year.
Human rights group Adhoc’s provincial monitor, Hou Sam Ol, said this is the first child rape they have recorded in Stung Treng this year, and they recorded 11 child rapes in the province in 2010.
The Cambodia Daily has reported on 13 child-rape cases so far this year.
