Lottery Man Killed; Police Suspect Revenge

A Singaporean businessman was gunned down Wednesday night in central Phnom Penh in what police are calling a revenge killing.

Sim Peng Sai, 48, was waiting in his car for his girlfriend near the Sorya Shopping Center when two assailants on a motorbike shot him four times in the chest with a shotgun, said Daun Penh district Deputy Police Chief Ouch Thorn.

“It is quite complicated for us because it happened at night and there are no witnesses,” he said. “We have no clear motive, but it might be personal revenge. We are considering that a top priority for our investigation.”

The victim was the owner of the Magnum Lottery and a shareholder in the Olympic Hotel. He had recently broken away from another lottery operation to start Magnum, and was reportedly involved in a dispute involving the hotel, police said.

They said they were looking into the lottery business, and are currently searching for Sim Peng Sai’s business assistant to question him about the hotel dispute, according to Ouch Thorn.

His lawyer in that dispute said the fight over the hotel could be behind the shooting.

“I conclude it might involve a shareholder,” attorney Kao Sopha said Friday.

A Singaporean Embassy official confirmed Friday that Sim Peng Sai was shot and died on the way to the hospital.

Police have no suspects and have yet to question any one connected to the victim or his business, Ouch Thorn said.

(Ad­ditional reporting by Seth Meixner)

 

 

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