A Phnom Penh police officer died in hospital on Monday after being hit in the face with a machete at a friend’s party in Dangkao district’s Kouk Roka commune on Saturday night, police officials said yesterday.
Kouk Raka commune deputy police chief Tim Phoeun–a father of five and a 20-year veteran of the police force–was attacked at about 10:30 pm on Saturday night outside a party he had been supervising for a young friend, said his chief Suon Sam Oeun.
Mr Sam Oeun said the suspect in the case was a 16-year-old boy who had left the party earlier after being assaulted by other partygoers directly in front of Mr Phoeun.
“At 10:30 pm, the victim walked about 30 meters from the house to see some of the guests off, and the suspect, who had been hiding in a dark place, chopped his face once using a machete,” he said, adding that the suspect escaped into the dark before anyone could apprehend him.
Mr Sam Oeun said that Mr Phoeun had told police who had attacked him before he was taken to the hospital but that it had been too dark for officer to start a search on Saturday night.
Mr Phoeun was taken directly to Preah Kossamak Hospital and operated on early Sunday morning but went into a coma after the operation and died at about 8:30 am on Monday, Mr Sam Ouen said.
“We are so sorry that we have lost our colleague, who started working as a police officer in 1989,” Mr Sam Oeun said. “Our dead colleague had five children, two daughters and three sons.”
Dangkao district deputy police chief Chuop Sok Heng said yesterday that police were searching actively for the suspect. “We have identified what the suspect looks like and now our district police are seeking this killer,” Mr Sok Heng said.
