A 20-year-old woman whose body was found floating in the Tonle Sap on Tuesday is believed to have been tortured and raped before being murdered, police said Wednesday.
Police found the body of Song Davin, a first-year student at Phnom Penh’s Vanda Institute who worked part-time at a money exchange, near the riverbank in Chroy Changva district at about 6 a.m. on Tuesday, said Yin Chantha, deputy police chief of Chroy Changva commune.
“Police concluded that the victim was physically tortured until she died because her body was covered in bruising, [so] she could have been attacked with some kind of hard object,” Mr. Chantha said.
Eng Sorphea, chief of the Phnom Penh municipal police’s serious crimes bureau, said investigators suspected that Song Davin was also raped before she was killed, and that her body was dumped in the river in an attempt to dispose of the evidence.
“We have not found the murderer yet, but our forces are still investigating,” he said.
Mr. Sorphea said police were searching for the victim’s boyfriend to find out whether he was involved.
Song Davin, who rented an apartment in Chamkar Mon district, lost contact with her family in Preah Vihear province on Mon-day evening, said her father, Teng Song.
“I called my daughter at 10 p.m. [and] the phone rang, but a minute later, her phone had been switched off and I couldn’t reach her afterward,” Mr. Song said.
“Our family was really worried,” he said. “On Tuesday morning, when we were watching the television, we saw the body and her clothes, and we knew it was her.”
Mr. Song said he has appealed to authorities to bring the perpetrator to justice, adding that preparations were underway to return his daughter’s body to Preah Vihear for the funeral.
