Three suspects are being sought for the double rape and murder of two young women in Kompong Thom province who had their eyes gouged out at some time during the attack, police said Monday.
Buth Khet, 21, and Chan Sath, 20, were raped, killed and mutilated on May 18 in Prasat Banlang district after they brought their cattle to graze about 6 km from their home in Daung commune, Pen Chan Sokrin, deputy provincial police chief, said Monday.
One victim had her eyes gouged completely out and the other victim had her eyes hacked with an ax, Pen Chan Sokrin said.
“This case is very cruel. The victims were raped and killed using axes and their eyes gouged out. It is a very serious case. We need to find the offenders,” he said.
“Our investigating police are watching all the [suspected] offenders’ movements. They are villagers from the same commune,” he added.
Police believe the killers are from the same commune because of their removal of the women’s eyes.
There is a myth in Cambodia that a person’s eyes hold the reflection of the last thing he or she saw before dying. In this case it would be the perpetrator, said Kun Sitha, Adhoc monitor in Kompong Thom.
There have been six rape cases in Kompong Thom this year, but only in this case were the victims killed, said Adhoc Coordinator Hor Neath.
Pen Chan Sokrin said he fears that if the suspects are not arrested soon, they will flee into the forest.
In 2004, Adhoc received 326 rape reports, a slight decrease from 2003 when the number was 356.
Most rapes reported to Adhoc were committed against children. Last year, 61 percent of rape victims were between 3 and 18 years old. And in one case the victim was an 18-month-old infant.
Separate monitoring of media reports by local rights group Licadho showed 152 people were raped in 2004, Licadho President Kek Galabru said earlier this year.
