Police spent Wednesday searching Kampot and Preah Sihanouk provinces for 12 men suspected of murdering their Chinese employer with an ax in Phnom Penh on Monday night, but failed in their mission, according to Eng Sorphea, chief of the municipal police’s serious crimes bureau.
The body of Kao Fi Fong, 40, was found inside a rented house in Pur Senchey district’s Choam Chao commune that was being renovated by 12 Cambodians.
Mr. Sorphea said police had located eight residences—three in Kampot’s Chhuk district and five in Sihanoukville—where the suspects lived. But none of the suspects were present when police showed up.
“We are not sure if all 12 of the workers committed the murder together, because they escaped after the killing,” Mr. Sorphea said. “We will take our investigation in a new direction to find those people.”
Choam Chao commune police chief Heng Kosal, who was part of the trip to the southern provinces, said Thursday that Kao Fi Fong had previously employed a total of 14 laborers, two of whom were recently fired.