Two men were arrested in Battambang province on Tuesday night after five people were injured—two seriously—when a fight broke out at a pagoda during celebrations for the ongoing Pchum Ben festival, a police official said Wednesday.
Rokha Kiri district police chief Sea Thy said the brawl at Wat Prek Chik in Prek Chik commune erupted during an evening of heavy drinking at the pagoda and involved about six locals and a group of roughly eight people from neighboring Kors Kralor district armed with knives.
“It started with a verbal argument and then they started using sticks and throwing rocks at each other, and small knives were used,” Mr. Thy said, adding that two locals suffered serious head injuries and were being treated at a private clinic, while three others were recovering from minor injuries at home.
The police chief said that two men from the Kors Kralor gang were arrested after the fight and were still in police custody. He declined to name the pair.
