One of two stone-carving brothers who allegedly beat a rival artisan to death in Kompong Cham provnce on Saturday was arrested by military police in Preah Vihear provnce on Tuesday, officials said.
According to police, the brothers had been drinking palm wine with Thon Vuthan, 30, at a shop in Kompong Cham’s Koh Sotin district on Saturday morning and left after he teased them for attempting to undercut the prices of his statues.
The three crossed paths later in the day, and one of the brothers clubbed Thon Vuthan over the head with a piece of wood, police said. Sem Khang, chief of the Kompong Cham provincial police’s judicial bureau, said on Wednesday that one of the brothers, Sam Pisey, 30, had been tracked to his sister’s home in Preah Vihear’s Choam Ksan district and a photograph of him was sent to authorities there.
“Preah Vihear miltary police got the address and then went there. They found him and his sister and arrested the suspect,” Mr. Khang said.
Kompong Cham police then took up custody of the suspect and brought him back to the provincial police headquarters, he added.