Police in Kompong Cham province are searching for two men who opened fired with an AK-47 rifle at a Forestry Administration office in Ponhea Krek district Tuesday evening, wounding a man sleeping at the house next door.
District police chief Prak Bunnun said by telephone that the two men rode up to the office in Krek commune on a motorcycle at around 9 pm and told the security guard that they wanted to speak to the office’s director, Thaong Vanvyravuthy.
Thaong Vanvyravuthy, who was standing nearby, shined a flashlight on the men to see who was there when one of the men opened fire while sitting on the motorcycle, Prak Bunnun said.
One of at least seven bullets fired, ricocheted off the building and hit 22-year-old Morn Meth in the back while he was sleeping next door, he said, adding that the victim suffered only a minor injury and is recovering at the provincial hospital.
Prak Bunnun said police suspect that the shooters attacked Thaong Vanvyravuthy because he had arrested many illegal loggers.
“The motive is assumed to be revenge because so far [Thaong Vanvyravuthy] has arrested many illegal wood transporters,” he said.
Kompong Cham provincial police chief Noun Samin said he was leading a joint investigation by provincial and district police to find the gunmen.
