A medical examination conducted on an Irish woman who was sexually assaulted in Preah Si-hanouk province has sat idle for more than a week at the hospital, with police saying it is now a matter for the provincial prosecutor.
Deputy provincial police chief Chor Heng said the prosecutor would review the victim’s medical assessment once police finish their investigation, though he was uncertain when that might be. He said his department has not ob-tained or reviewed the report that was finished on March 20.
“When [police] finish the investigation process, we will pass the case to the prosecutor,” he said Sunday. “Police do not have the authority to take the report,” un-less ordered by the prosecutor.
On Wednesday, after a reporter informed him that the Irish victim’s medical report was complete, Chor Heng said that he would send a subordinate to the provincial hospital to see if the report was indeed ready to pick up.
On Sunday, Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court Prosecutor Bo Bunhang said he was not aware of the details of the case.
“I don’t know…. Police are still investigating this case,” he said, declining to comment about the medical report.
On March 19, the victim told police she was sexually assaulted earlier that morning. The next day, the female tourist underwent a medical examination to check for evidence and injuries, said Ho Sothy, deputy director of the prov-incial referral hospital. On Sunday, he said the hospital was still waiting for police to pick up the report.
“This is the police’s obligation to get it,” he said. “We are just waiting for them.”
Although admitting the police had few leads and little evidence, Chor Heng said that his officers were vigorously investigating the crime. As before, he declined to elaborate on the investigation.
When asked why this case differed from the norm with regard to the amount of information being released to the press by police, Chor Heng would only reply, “This is not the same case.”
