A Cambodian from Svay Rieng province’s Romeas Hek district was killed in Vietnam during a fight between Vietnamese and Cambodian youth gangs last week, while two other Cambodians were seriously injured, local police said yesterday.
Svay Rieng provincial police chief Prach Rim said the two gangs clashed on Monday in the Vietnamese town of Tay Ninh, a few kilometers from the border with Svay Rieng.
“There were 11 Cambodian gangsters and 11 Vietnamese gangsters who attacked each other in Vietnam. One Cambodian was killed and two were injured. Vietnamese police have arrested 11 suspects in this case,” said Mr Rim, adding provincial police and Vietnamese police officers cooperated during the investigation.
Phann Chin, provincial investigator for the local rights group Adhoc said he visited Tai Ninh and spoke to the Cambodian youths involved in the incident, adding the three victims were brothers.
“Var Den, 21, died and Var Deth, 19, Var Doeun, 25, were injured,” he said.
Mr Chin said the Cambodians were students who had entered Vietnam on bicycles to celebrate Chinese New Year but after they had parked their bicycles in town and walked to a bus station, they encountered the Vietnamese group who reportedly attacked them with wooden sticks and knives.
Mr Rim said the attackers beat Var Den to death and threw his body in a river where it was found Wednesday. His injured brothers were hospitalized in Vietnam with wounds to their heads and bodies.
“They know each other, they fought with each other before,” Mr Rim said of the two groups.
Vietnamese Embassy officials in Phnom Penh were unavailable yesterday.
