A husband and wife who run a wholesale business in Kampot City were attacked in their sleep early Saturday morning and died of their injuries, according to police, who said they are still working to identify multiple suspects.
In Thouk, the 52-year-old wife, died in the couple’s bedroom after the attack, while Oeur Kean Ang, the 56-year-old husband, died of his injuries after being sent to a hospital in Vietnam, according to Lok Nhao, the deputy provincial penal police chief.
“They were beaten and killed by blows from a hard object to their head in their bedroom early Sunday morning,” he said, adding that the couple’s business in the center of Kampot City was the city’s sole distributor of Heineken beer and Ara cigarettes.
Mr. Nhao said that police believe that multiple individuals were involved in the attack and robbery, which occurred at about 1:30 a.m., although security camera footage from inside the couple’s house showed only one man walking up to the camera and covering it up.
The couple’s son, who was sleeping in a separate room in the same house, discovered that his parents had been attacked and alerted police shortly after 9 a.m., Mr. Nhao said.
Provincial police chief Mao Chanmathurith said that police believed the attack was both personal and financially motivated.
“This case is revenge against their business, and their belongings were robbed,” he said, explaining that a safe was stolen from the couple’s bedroom.
Brigadier General Chanmathurith said he hoped that members of In Thouk and Oeur Kean Ang’s family would be able to assist in the investigation once they have returned from Vietnam and completed preparations for the funeral.
“We hope to find the suspect if the victims’ family cooperates with our police who are investigating,” he said.
