Police in Pursat province are searching for a man accused of raping an 11-year-old girl in Pursat City on Saturday, officials said Sunday.
The suspect, Sok Ratana, 20, is a construction worker who allegedly raped the girl, his neighbor in Phteah Prey commune, on a dry lake bed near his home, according to To Taing Eng, chief of the provincial police’s technical bureau.
The assault occurred after Mr. Ratana asked the girl to buy him a pack of cigarettes, Mr. Taing Eng said.
“When the girl walked to buy the cigarettes, the suspect followed behind her,” he said. “When the girl had walked about 50 meters, the suspect covered her mouth and pulled her into the dry lake.”
After raping the girl, Mr. Ratana is believed to have fled to Battambang province, and police there are cooperating with officers in Pursat to arrest him, Mr. Taing Eng said.
The girl told her parents about the rape and was examined at the provincial referral hospital on Sunday, he said.
“We are really worried about the girl now, because she is quiet and doesn’t want to talk with anyone,” he added.
