A Cambodian-Canadian man allegedly faked his own death by buying the corpse of a deceased woman and torching her body inside a car in a suspected life insurance claim scam, Siem Reap police officials said Monday.
Earlier this month, police declared Kong Sopha dead after finding a charred skeleton in a burned out vehicle on Road 68A in Siem Reap, about 30 km from Anlong Veng in Oddar Meanchey province.
Police initially believed the body was Kong Sopha because he had been reported missing and had been driving the car that turned up on the side of the road.
On Monday, police said Kong Sopha was still alive but his whereabouts remain unknown.
“Police are searching to find him,” said Om Sivithya, chief of Siem Reap foreigner police.
Kong Sopha, 42, allegedly colluded with friends and bought the body of a deceased woman for about $1,500, Siem Reap provincial police chief Nguon Bophal said.
Two of Kong Sopha’s friends, who were arrested after an investigation into his apparent death, told police that a middleman bought the corpse from a doctor, who in turn, bought it from a family in the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng. The suspects confessed they helped place the body in a car and set it alight after dousing it with gasoline, penal police Chief Ou Em said.
“This case was created by Kong Sopha who colluded with his friends to cheat a life insurance company in Canada,” Ou Em said. Police did not know the name of the insurance company.
A third suspect, whom police said was Kong Sopha’s second wife, was also arrested for her involvement in the plot. Police said Kong Sopha has another wife, who is still in Canada.
Canadian Ambassador Stefanie Beck on Monday confirmed the embassy had been notified of the case, but said embassy officials were not involved in the investigation.
(Additional reporting by Wency Leung)
