The Battambang Provincial Court on Tuesday charged three men and two women who were arrested Sunday for allegedly selling lottery tickets in contravention of Cambodia’s gambling laws, officials said.
Touch Vy, 40, Kao Kimsea, 41, and Seng Phan, 73 were all arrested in Battambang City’s Svay Por commune, said Meng Lieng, deputy bureau chief of the provincial minor crimes police.
Long Ratana, 32, and Sok In, 72, were arrested the same day in Chamkar Samraong commune, while another unidentified female suspect escaped.
“Some of them were operating lottery booths that looked like a newsstand, while the others had set up tables on the roadside to sell lottery tickets,” he said.
He added that each suspect received three separate warnings to desist before they were arrested.
“It is unbelievable that they would sell lottery tickets openly…as though our country allows this.”
Deputy prosecutor Hoeung Bunthan said the five suspects were charged under Article 5 of the gambling law for operating gambling businesses, which is punishable by up to five years in jail.
