An elderly Malaysian businessman and his long-serving Cambodian maid were brutally murdered early yesterday morning during a home invasion by at least two assailants at a residence in Phnom Penh’s Boeng Keng Kang I commune, police said yesterday.
Lem Thiang Ang, 71, the owner of gas station supply company Karasan Equipment Co Ltd, died near the front steps of his company’s house in Street 344 after being stabbed in the stomach with a knife, according to a commune police report.
The report detailed that his maid, Hem Maly, 65, died on the front steps of the residence after having her head beaten repeatedly with a stick.
According to the report, the 22-year-old security guard at the residence, Nop Tiro, was stabbed once to his stomach and hit once on the head during the raid, which occurred at about 1 am yesterday.
However, Municipal Police Chief Touch Naruth said that Mr Tiro had been arrested at Vuthsak medical clinic, where he was receiving treatment for his wounds, for allegedly playing a role in the double murder and attempted robbery.
“We suspect [Mr Tiro] is an insider to [the killing] of both victims,” Mr Naruth said, adding that another offender wore a facemask, while a third wore a krama on his head.
The intruders attempted to steal a safe from the house during the invasion, but were unable to open it and eventually left it inside the front gate of the residence before making their getaway empty handed.
Yesterday, Hel Samnang, a supervisor at the Karasan company, said that he had known Mr Lem for more than 10 years and did not believe he had any enemies.
“I have been working with him for so long but I never heard that he had any enemies,” Mr Samnang said, adding that Mr Lem stored very little money in the safe and only lived in Cambodia for two weeks each month-spending the rest of the time at his home in Kuala Lumpur.
“The staff at the company are like a family and [Mr Lem] is a very good man,” Mr Samnang added.
Chamkar Mon district Police Chief Ouch Sokhon said investigating officers were working closely with the Malaysian Embassy in Phnom Penh.
A Malaysian Embassy staff member, who did not want to be identified, said embassy officials had been to the crime scene and were still not sure what the motive behind the murder was.
