A 27-year-old police cadet charged with murdering his girlfriend before dumping her body in the Tonle Sap river was called for questioning Tuesday by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, where he protested his innocence.
Hong Kalidin was arrested a week after the body of Song Davin, a first-year accounting student at the Vanda Institute, was found on October 7 near the riverbank in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva district.
An autopsy showed that she had been raped. Inside Mr. Kalidin’s Toyota Tundra, police found a Glock pistol, two silencers and a small bag of methamphetamine. But after about two hours of questioning Tuesday, Investigating Judge Svay Tonh said there was insufficient evidence to prove Mr. Kalidin’s guilt.
“This case is difficult because…we have not found inculpatory evidence to convict him,” Judge Tonh said, adding that the investigation will continue.
Outside the judge’s chambers, Mr. Kalidin said he was innocent and said he last saw the victim the night before her body was found.
“I dropped her at Pencil market in the evening. I do not know where she was going after that,” he said.
