The Svay Rieng Provincial Court on Friday charged two men with impersonating the bodyguards of a high-ranking police officer to scam a local police official with the promise of promotion in exchange for cash, local police said.
En Vuthy, 42, and Veng Savy, 50, were arrested on Thursday following their attempt to dupe Sao Sony, a police officer in Svay Chrum district’s Kok Pring commune, into handing over $1,150 for the higher rank of sergeant major, said Major Keo Sotha, provincial minor crimes police chief.
The suspects first took $150 from Mr. Sony as a fee for completing the necessary paperwork and later tried to extract an additional $1,000 from him.
The victim could not afford the asking price, so the three agreed on a fee of $500, Mr. Sotha said.
“[Mr. Sony] doubted the authenticity of the promotion letter, which was written by the suspects, because it did not conform to the usual formal standards,” said Mr. Sotha.
The victim filed a complaint with provincial police to investigate the case and then arranged a meeting on Thursday with the suspects in a coffee shop in Svay Rieng City, where the alleged con artists were nabbed by police.
The suspects were “both jobless and knew each other through betting on rainfall,” Mr. Sotha added.
The pair is being held in pre-trial detention in Svay Rieng Provincial Prison.
